


Stroke of Midnight

by Taliax



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Divergent, Cute but might get dark later, F/M, Friendship, Kidnapping, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-01-19 13:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 67,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12411192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taliax/pseuds/Taliax
Summary: Two dances, four destinies changed. "He was going to make this stupid ball a night to remember." Or, the one where Terra goes to the ball with Cinderella, and Vanitas crafts a creative plan to deal with Aqua. Varying degrees of Terra/Cinderella and Vanitas/Aqua. T for possible violence and darker themes later on.





	1. Believing

**Author's Note:**

> Like the completely irresponsible writer I am, I decided to go ahead and work on another multichapter even though I’ve barely started ASAS and might even be doing NaNo this year. X’D I finally got the pieces to line up for this story though, which I’ve had in the back of my mind since even before I started Cast a Shadow if I remember correctly. Anyway, it’s been a long time since I’ve had this problem, but I just couldn’t get the next chapter of ASAS to work for me until I got this out of my system.
> 
> Takes place in BbS canon in the Castle of Dreams world, though it will become canon divergent later on. Also, I have no idea how long this will end up being. Currently my shortest multichapter with a finished plot is 15 chapters long, but I’d really prefer if this ended up shorter. Since I tend to contradict all of my predictions that I leave in author’s notes though I’ll stop speculating on it. :P
> 
> If you’re reading this for the Van/Aqua, don’t worry, that comes in the next chapter. This one is mostly Terrella. I was going to include them all together, but it was getting way too long, so I ended up splitting it.
> 
> Other notes/warnings: this starts out fairly cute, but it will end up getting darker. Not 100% sure by how much, but let’s just say Vanitas is not a good person.

**XXX**

The stupid girl was crying.

Vanitas watched her from a thicket of trees, the place where he always designated his dark corridors to materialize.  He had scouted this world long enough to know that this spot was close enough to civilization to be useful, but hidden enough to conceal his arrival.  By virtue of always picking this particular location, he had caught glimpses of this girl before, as it was near a plot of land he assumed was her garden.  The proximity was intentional.  Not because he cared about this girl - in fact, she sickened him with her incessant singing as she went about her work.  Unfortunately, Xehanort had ordered him to keep an eye on her.  She was, after all, a heart of pure light.

Which was why he was surprised to find her crying.  What could _she_ possibly have to cry about?  Life must be all butterflies and rainbows for her.  

He crept silently through the undergrowth, emerging between two tangles of briars.  They caught on the red hem of his waist-cape - he refused to call the stupid garment a skirt - but the girl ignored the rustling as he tugged it free.  As far as he could tell, she was fully wrapped in the world of her own misery.  Well, all the better for him.  His job would be easier than he thought.

She didn’t even lift her head as he slunk behind her.  A simple Stop spell ensured that she never would.  Then, acting before the spell wore off, he seized her shoulders and drew upon her light.  It was a nameless spell, and one he only understood as he performed it.  It felt almost like creating Unversed, only in reverse; instead of releasing negativity, he was stealing positivity.

His skin burned through his suit; his lips parted in silent agony.  Fiery needles pierced his heart like some kind of demonic acupuncture.  Yet the scent - like flowers and cotton; sugar and sky - and the _rush -_ the feeling of waking up, of finally being alive - more than made up for the pain.

He wanted to keep drinking it in, but her heart would recognize the foreign parasite soon enough.  Part of him longed to join with this random girl, the way he soon would with Ventus, but that was beyond stupid.  If Ventus was still weak, then this girl was little more than a bug.  He’d accidentally kill her before they would even have a chance of merging.

Forcing himself to let go was like leaving an all-you-can-eat buffet after only taking a single bite.  He jerked back his hands just as the girl’s head shot up.

By the time she looked over her shoulder, he was once more hidden in the trees.  As much as he wanted to strike fear into her sunshine-filled heart, he might need her again.  No point in tipping her off to what he’d done.

He watched her for a moment to see if she would notice anything off - but she just went right back to sobbing.  Seriously, what was wrong with this girl?

“I’ll give you something to cry about,” Vanitas muttered under his breath, preparing to wrangle  his Annoyance into some Floods and Scrappers.  Just as his hand was stretched out to create the Unversed, however, a voice stopped him.

“Is something wrong?”

For half a second, he thought the question was directed at him.  A stupid assumption, considering no one but Xehanort ever talked to him.  But then he saw Terra’s burly form approaching the crying girl.  Of course, Vanitas should’ve recognized the voice.  He’d spied on Eraqus’s apprentices more times than he could remember.  He just hadn’t expected the taller keyblade wielder to appear _here_ of all places.  Xehanort had ordered him to intercept Aqua here, but he hadn’t said anything about Terra.

_Probably didn’t want me picking a fight with his vessel,_ Vanitas grumbled internally.  The old man never let him have any fun.

“It's just that my friends made me the most beautiful dress - but my stepmother and stepsisters ruined it. And I was so looking forward to the ball.” The girl’s voice slapped him out of his reverie.  

“A _ball?”_ Vanitas couldn’t help the exclamation.  “She’s sobbing over a freaking _ball?”_ And a _dress!_ Void’s Abyss, did Princesses of Heart seriously have nothing better to worry about?

If what the girl had said was embarrassingly pathetic, then Terra’s reply was even worse.

“Darkness always finds a way into a wounded heart. You have to be strong. Strength of heart will carry you through the hardest of trials.”

Vanitas could’ve burst out laughing right there.  A few Archravens of sadistic amusement wanted to flap their way out.  Terra, who was about to succumb to the darkness himself, was lecturing a _Princess of Heart_ about it?

He would’ve stayed to see how their conversation played out, but not only was it likely to get more pathetic from there, he was also on a time limit.  Aqua would be here soon, and his cloaking of light wouldn’t last forever.

So he set free a mob of Unversed and loped off through the forest.

XXX

“I can’t believe… not anymore…”

Terra could hardly believe it himself.  The young woman was still crying, seemingly unaware that more than just her dress had been in danger.  Puffs of darkness still hung in the air, the fading remnants of the Unversed he’d destroyed.

_I always said I wanted strength to protect,_ he told himself, _not strength to impress others._ Whether she knew it or not, he had been able to fulfill his purpose as a keyblade wielder.  The Master would have been proud of him.

Then again, maybe he would’ve been more proud if Terra knew a way to help this girl stop crying.  It wasn’t like he had any experience - whenever Aqua cried, she’d also give you this look like if you tried to comfort her, she’d punch you in the face.  She might be such a girl sometimes, but others…

He shook his head.  The one thing Aqua _would_ sometimes let him do was bring her ice cream, but he didn’t have any of that on him at the moment.

Just when he was about to kneel down and maybe pat her shoulder or something, a strange blue mist started to condense on the air in front of her.

“Uh…”  He almost summoned his keyblade, thinking it could be more Unversed, but then he heard the voice.

“Strength of heart is important, but that’s not all you need.”

What - had this weird voice been _spying_ on them?  His face flushed, suddenly self-conscious of his failed attempt to comfort the young woman.  Not that he had any reason to be; it wasn’t his fault she was crying.  And this voice had no right to criticise his advice!

“There’s nothing left to believe in… nothing…” The young woman shook with her sobs.  That seemed a _little_ extreme for having just lost a chance at a ball.  There had to be more to the story than that.  Maybe her stepsisters had hurt her too.  He could cast Cure on her, just in case.

“Nothing, my dear? Oh, now, you don't really mean that,” the mist said, coalescing into… an old lady?  She was cloaked in a blue robe with a giant pink bow tied at her neck.  Well, he’d seen stranger things in the past few days.  At least she seemed more benevolent than Maleficent and the Queen had been.  Not that he had proven himself to be a stunning judge of character…

“Oh...but I do. It's just no use.”

The floating lady placed a hand on her shoulder.  Maybe he should’ve tried a comforting pat after all.  “Nonsense! If you'd lost all your faith, I couldn't be here, and here I am. Oh, come now, dry those tears. You can't go to the ball looking like that.”

The girl looked up, tears still streaming down her face.  “The ball? Oh, but I'm not-”

“Of course you are. But we'll have to hurry. Now, what were those magic words? Oh yes... Bibbidi-Bobbidi-boo!”

What the-?  That wasn’t any kind of magic spell Terra knew.  Not that he was the expert on magic; he left that to Aqua, but he was pretty sure she’d agree.

When the lady’s wand shot out glitter that summoned a pumpkin from across the garden, Terra began to wonder if he’d accidentally inhaled too many D-Link Crystals.  As that pumpkin evolved into a gleaming white carriage, he became increasingly sure of it.  He would’ve run away if he hadn’t been worried he’d pass out somewhere.

He made up his mind to sneak away anyway, but then the old lady-fairy waved her wand again - this time towards the young woman.  His jaw dropped as her tattered dress swirled with glitter and grew into a full white ballgown.

“Oh... It's a beautiful dress,” the woman gasped.  Suddenly she didn’t look so young.  Certainly not old, but - mature.  ...Or something like that.  He was just glad she was too enthralled herself to catch him staring.  “Why… it’s a dream come true!”

The fairy was saying something, but Terra wasn’t paying attention.  He could feel something, the same sixth sense that alerted him to Aurora and Snow White.  It was something like the tingle of stepping into a warm bath on a chilly day.  The feeling of pure light.

_And she had to put on a pretty dress for me to see it.  Am I really that shallow?_

“Excuse me, sir,” the woman was waving a white-gloved hand at him.

“Huh?”  He blinked.  The fairy was gone, but the woman, carriage, and even two horses were still there.  He still wanted to blame the D-Link Crystals, but he reluctantly admitted that his imagination probably wouldn’t be this good even if he actually was on drugs.

“You’re going to the ball too, aren’t you?”  She asked with a smile.

“Uh… I… sure…?”   _No, you moron, you’re not!_ He wanted to slap himself.  It wasn’t like he’d never seen a pretty girl before - well, actually, it was.  Aqua was like his sister; she didn’t count.   _She_ would probably slap him for saying that…

“Would you like a ride in my carriage?  It’s no trouble.”

“Um, ah, no thank you… I actually, uh, wasn’t invited,” he finally managed to stammer.  It didn’t help that her light only served to remind him of what he’d done to Aurora, and nearly done to Snow White.  It was a surprise no shady villainess had come to demand he steal this woman’s heart yet.

_At this rate, she’s going to steal mine,_ the coherent part of his mind thought wryly, before he pushed it aside.  He was a keyblade wielder, for light’s sake, not some fairytale hero whose main job was to sweep princesses off their feet.

The woman laughed, a stereotypically musical sound.  “The whole kingdom is invited; surely you know?  Or are you not from here?”

“Um, no, I’m from here,” he covered quickly, wishing his clothes didn’t make him stick out like the foolish outworlder he was.  The Master would be furious if he revealed the existence of other worlds.  If only that fairy had worked some magic on him, too…  “I’m just not, uh, the kind of person who knows his way around a ball.”

“Well, that makes two of us.”  She gave him another perfect smile.  No one should be allowed to smile at complete strangers like that.  “Shall we go, then?”

He sighed.  It didn’t seem she would take no for an answer.  He guessed a ride wouldn’t hurt; if there was a ball going on, that’s where the most people would be.  Maybe he could ask around about Xehanort and the Unversed there.

“Alright,” he relented.  

“Thank you… um...”  she seemed to be fishing for something.  It took him a moment to realize it was probably his name.

“Terra.”

“Terra.  What a lovely name,” she smiled without a trace of mockery.  He was just grateful she didn’t tease him about having a girl’s name.

“Thanks,” he replied, not really sure how to take it.  “What’s yours?”

“Cinderella.”

Oh.  Well, if he had a name like that, maybe he wouldn’t make fun of anyone else either.   _Stop being a jerk, it’s a fine name,_ he mentally shook himself.

“Nice to meet you, Cinderella.”  He finally managed to complete a full sentence without saying _uh._ He would’ve fist-pumped, but that probably would’ve been excessive.  Also, this was his first real greeting with someone from another world who didn’t either tempt him to do evil or run away screaming.  Was he supposed to do anything else?  Shake her hand or something?  He shouldn’t have dozed during the Master’s lessons on otherworld cultures…

“Likewise.  Now, we really should be going!  We’ll be ever so late at this rate, but I do believe we can make it.”  She stepped towards the carriage, then paused, as if waiting for something.  She glanced at him.  Maybe he had forgotten part of the greeting?  Whatever it was, she soon shook it off and stepped carefully into the carriage.  He climbed in after her, and the horses took off at a gallop.  He had to dig his fingers into the seat cushion to keep from being flung back.  Cinderella, on the other hand, took the bumpy, jarring road in stride.

“I really can’t thank you enough, Terra,” she said as they rode.  “Those monsters would have attacked me for sure if you hadn’t been there.”

“Wha- you mean you noticed them?”

She giggled.  “Not at first, but it would have been difficult to miss your battle cries.”

His face suddenly heated again.  How could he have been so careless?  He had used his keyblade and magic right in front of her - well, behind her.  Unless this world was full of people like the fairy from earlier, she had to know he wasn’t from around here.  Actually, she had hardly reacted to that either, so maybe magic really _was_ normal around here.

“No need to be embarrassed.  I assure you they were quite manly.”

What - that had definitely not been what he was worried about!  He knew he sounded manly.  ...Except when he made a complete stammering fool of himself in front of her…

“Why didn’t you run away, then?”  He asked.

“From your manly battle cries?”  She raised her eyebrows.

“No!”  The grave he was digging for his pride just kept getting deeper and deeper.  “The monsters, I mean.”

Suddenly her smile softened to look of concern.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to tease you, it’s just been so long since I had another kind human to talk to, I’m terribly out of practice.”

_Another kind_ human _?_ What other sentient creatures lived on this world?  ...Or had he just ended up alone with a schizophrenic?

“I would have ran from the monsters if I’d seen them earlier,” she continued.  “But I was so lost in myself, I didn’t notice until you were already fighting them.  And then you were so brave… I should have believed then.  I’m sorry you’ve had to see me in such a dark place…”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Terra said, wincing as they flew over another bump in the dirt road.  You never had those kinds of problems with a Keyblade Glider.  “We all have moments where the darkness seems too strong to fight.”

_Some of us more than others,_ he thought with a sigh.  He didn’t realize that sigh had been out loud until Cinderella placed a hand on his knee.

“You seem like someone who has a lot of experience fighting,” she said quietly.  “Has something been troubling you?”

Why would she ask that?  She barely knew him.  Then again, that had basically been the first words he’d said to her - but she had been sobbing uncontrollably, so it had been pretty obvious.

“It’s nothing.”  He shook his head.  His problems belonged to him, nobody else.  No need to spoil Cinderella’s magical ball with his self-doubt.

“I’m sure you thought a torn dress and missing a ball were ‘nothing,’ too,” she smiled, and he might have detected a hint of wryness in it.  

He hated it, but he was sure his face reddened in embarrassment.  “...I wouldn’t have said that.”  Even if he had thought it.

“It’s alright. They are quite small things, really.  It was more of what they represented to me - the dream of being free.  But enough about me!  I’ve already burdened you enough with my sorrows.  Is there any way that I can help you?”

Terra’s first instinct was to say no.  He was supposed to be the strong one, the one who helped, not the one who needed help.  However, the sincerity in her eyes, the light that shone through them, made him wonder if the best way to help her might be to allow her to help him.

“You might,” he decided.  “Have you met a man named Xehanort? Or do you know anything about those monsters that attacked us?”

Those didn’t seem to be the type of questions she was expecting.  Her brow furrowed as she replied, “That name doesn’t sound familiar, though I wouldn’t expect it to. My stepmother keeps me inside unless she needs me to run an errand.  As for those monsters, I’ve seen a few on the edge of the forest before, but never as many as those you fought.”

“Really,” he replied thoughtfully.  Had he attracted the creatures somehow?  “Did they ever attack you before?”

“Hmm… no, strangely they didn’t.”  She frowned.  “I only saw them a few times, so I could be wrong, but they seemed almost _curious.”_

_Curious?_ The Master had told him that the Unversed were “fledgling emotions,” but did that mean that they could actually feel those emotions?  It was hard to wrap his head around.  Maybe it was simpler than that - Master Eraqus had also said they fed on negativity.  As a Princess of Heart, Cinderella probably didn’t have much, if any, of that to feed on.

That could also explain why the Unversed seemed so attracted to him lately…

“I was likely just imagining things,” she sighed when Terra didn’t reply.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” he said.  “There’s a lot I don’t know about them yet.”

The carriage shook again, probably bouncing over a larger rock this time.  Rather than spending money on fancy balls, Terra wished this kingdom would pave their roads.

He realized the problem might be worse than a bumpy road when a mob of Floods slithered through the windows.

The carriage jerked to a halt; he heard the horses whinny in fright.  Terra nearly flung forward at the sudden stop, but he summoned his keyblade and jammed it through the floor, holding himself in place.  

“I’ve got this,” he assured Cinderella, who had barely paused to gasp before crouching down as far as she could beneath the seat.  Considering she was currently a puff of gauzy fabric and glitter, it wasn't working very well.

“Yes, I’m quite sure you do,” she replied, concern barely tinging her voice.  If it were anyone else, he would’ve thought she was trying to be sarcastic.

Well now wasn’t the time to worry about that - he had Unversed to fight.  Stabbing monsters was something he could handle - if only there was _room_ to stab them.  He had to resort to shooting bursts of Fire through the windows to keep them out, being careful to avoid singeing Cinderella’s probably-flammable dress.  She would probably be more upset about that than about being mauled by monsters.

The few Floods that had made it into the carriage gave him a little more trouble.  There wasn’t enough room to swing his blade, and any magic would be dangerous in such close quarters. The blue monsters were lunging towards Cinderella; he had to think of something -

He slammed his fist into an Unversed’s face.  His hand sunk in a little, like its skin was little more than a cold tarp holding in a fluid substance.  The blow didn’t seem to do much damage, but he swore he could see shock in its glowing red eyes.

Then they narrowed angrily.

Terra barely managed to summon his armor before the Floods dove at him.  Miraculously, his armored fists actually did damage, plunging through the Unversed’s thin skins and destroying them in plumes of dark vapor. He panted slightly as the mist dissipated.  Great as the keyblade was, there was something satisfying about just punching his problems in the face.

Cinderella stood and smoothed out her skirts.  “Well, that was rather exciting.”

Terra just stared at her.  Again, that might have been sarcasm, but she was _smiling._ As if her life hadn’t just been in peril for the second time tonight.   _This girl needs to get her priorities straight._

“You weren’t worried?”  He asked, which only made her smile wider.

“Didn’t you tell me it was important to stay strong?”

...Alright, she had him there.

After she stepped out to check on the horses, they were off again.  The rest of the trip wasn’t as exciting; mostly Cinderella asked him questions about his armor, which he figured he was allowed to answer.  At least he hadn’t shown off his glider.

She gasped when they arrived at the Castle.  “I’ve never seen it from this close before… it’s beautiful.”

Terra smiled.  “You should see the castle I-”  he cut himself off.  What was he doing?  About to tell her he lived in a castle?  She would never believe his story about being a soldier from the other side of the kingdom at this rate.

“Hm?”  She asked, but when he said “Nothing,” she didn’t press him.  She did seem to be waiting for him to exit the carriage first, though, so he scrambled out the door.  

She still looked at him strangely.  What?  Something about getting in and out of carriages… oh.  He remembered now, from several of Aqua’s old princess movies.  The prince was supposed to help the princess get in and out.  It made sense; if it was a pain for him to climb out, it must be even more of a struggle in a dress.

“Here.”  He took her by the arms and lifted her down, which made her giggle.

“Well, that works too…”

“What?”  He frowned.

“Oh, nothing,” she said, but she was still stifling a laugh.  Other worlds and their crazy cultures…

At least there were more Unversed in the castle’s courtyard.  Fighting them was a welcome distraction from his embarrassment.

Once inside the castle, they followed the sounds of classical music and chattering voices towards the ballroom.  How anyone had made it through the Unversed, he had no idea, until he saw a few castle guards stabbing at some Scrappers with long pikes.  They roved in groups of three or four, taking out any Unversed that had made it through the doors.  Whatever this ball was about, apparently it was important enough to hold in spite of the monstrous threat.

He had to stop himself from summoning his keyblade and helping the guards out.  Cinderella was one thing; showing off his weapon to others here could be dangerous.  “What is this ball for, anyway?”  He asked her to distract himself as they continued towards the ballroom.

“Hm?  Oh, I think it has to do with the prince, or something,” she waved a hand, as if it weren’t really important.

“You mean you were so excited to come, and you don’t actually know what it’s about?”  Terra asked in surprise.

She laughed sheepishly.  “I just know that ‘every eligible maiden’ is supposed to attend.  It’s the first excuse I’ve had in forever to leave the manor, to have one night for myself…  It could have been a country hoedown rather than a ball and I still would have been thrilled.”

“Fair enough.”  He’d felt similarly about leaving the Land of Departure.  Even if his mission to locate Xehanort was less than successful at the moment, at least he was getting to see the worlds and use his keyblade for good.

_Well, mostly for good…_ He hid a wince at his memory of Aurora.   _No.  That wasn’t my fault; that was Maleficent._ He couldn’t do anything for Aurora now; the most he could do was protect others like her.  Like Cinderella.

Finally, they reached the ballroom.  If she had been impressed by the castle’s exterior, the light in her blue eyes doubled at the sight of the well-dressed men and women inside.  Well, well-dressed for this world, he guessed.  The women looked like a rainbow of puffballs in their poofy dresses.  The men were a little better, in stiff uniforms or tailcoats.

Terra stopped at the door.  When Cinderella glanced back at him in confusion, he simply bowed and gestured for her to go on.

“You… aren’t coming?”  She asked.

“I did tell you that I don’t know my way around a ball,” he replied.  Besides, his spiky hair and wide pants would stand out like a syrup stain on one of Ven’s jackets.

“Nonsense,” she laughed.  “Why, you just gave me the most gentlemanly bow.  Surely a knight like yourself has been to a ball before.”

“A knight?”  Well, a knight was probably more similar to a keyblade wielder than a soldier.  That would have been a better cover story.  “Uh, sure.  But I still haven’t been to a ball before.”

“As I said before, that makes both of us.”  She paused, as if expecting him to agree.  When he didn’t, she continued with an expression that reminded him of Ven’s when Terra ate the last cookie.  “Please forgive me for my assumptions, Terra.  It was kind of you to accompany me this far.  It means so much to me.”

Was she doing that on purpose?  Making the guilt squirm in his chest?  She turned and daintily held her skirts as she walked into the ballroom.

He should have let her go.  Let her find some other man to talk to, someone from her world, someone who could continue to be her friend after he was gone.  She was kind and friendly, if a little strange; she would have no trouble mingling.

He wasn’t sure what possessed him to call out, “Wait.”  She turned with a hint of hope in her eyes.  “There might be Unversed in there.  I should at least make sure it’s safe.”

She blinked.  Then that wonderful smile spread across her face.  “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”

In spite of himself, Terra grinned.  Whether there were more Unversed to fight or not, he realized he might enjoy this ball.


	2. Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s a lot of risk-taking involved in this story. I mean, I’m not known for writing common ships, but the combination of Terra/Cinderella and Vanitas/Aqua both in one place is probably a bit out there even for me. So if you read the first chapter and then stuck around for another, thanks! It means a lot that anyone would give this fic a chance! If you were hoping for more Terrella right away though, sorry; it will probably alternate about every other chapter, but might lean more towards Van/Aqua. 
> 
> Acknowledgements I forgot from the first chapter: Raberba girl is the one who first got me thinking about Terrella if I remember correctly, and talking with GuiltyKingOmashu helped me pin down some of Terra’s character. Thanks! Also a big thanks to everyone who’s reviewed so already, you guys are great!

_Of course_ she was heading straight for the glittery castle.  She was a light-cursed _girl,_ where else would she go?  Vanitas growled softly as he trailed her through the starlit courtyard.  The light from that other stupid girl had done its job well; Aqua didn’t notice the specter who followed her as surely as her own shadow.  Still, it would have been so much easier if she’d chosen the path towards the forest.  How was he supposed to ambush her if she went into that stupid party?  Light or no light, he couldn’t exactly sneak in in his suit and helmet.

_Wait… maybe I don’t have to._

He skirted ahead of Aqua while keeping to the courtyard walls.  After sending a few mobs of Unversed ahead for a distraction, he slunk in the tall doors and through the bright hallways.  He stood out against the carpet like the stain he was.  Ugh.  If he did cross paths with any of the guards, they wouldn’t be able to miss him.  His Unversed better do a good job.

Unfortunately, he did need to run into at least one guard.  Preferably a short one.

He peeked around a corner to see three guards dashing in the direction of his hallway.  Ducking back with a mental curse, he took a gamble and flung open one of the doors - or tried to, anyway.  Locked.  He barely managed to bring his keyblade up and open it with a beam of purple light in time.

Inside was pleasantly dark.  Even his keen eyes needed a _little_ light to see, though, so he summoned a hovering orb of Fire.

The tiny space felt more like a mousehole than a room.  The disorderly piles of serving trays, cleaning rags, and sewing supplies only heightened the feeling.  What was this place?  Some kind of crawl space for castle servants?  He didn’t really care.  He was about to peek back out when he realized this place might actually be useful.  If there were needles, thread, and fabric around, maybe there were some clothes, too.

He stepped over a mop bucket, pushed a chair out of his way, and knelt down by a pile of fabric.  Sure enough, he was able to dig out a pair of trousers and some kind of fancy jacket.  Both were a disgusting shade of green, unfortunately.  He rummaged some more until he came up with a red set.

“Better.”  He nodded.  Changing out of his suit would be bad enough without looking like a Christmas tree threw up on him.  He groaned when he realized something was still wrong, though - while they were close enough to his size, the jacket had a ripped seam along one sleeve, and the pants were missing a button.  Probably why they were in the servant’s room in the first place.

He snapped his fingers and summoned a few Floods.  “Alright, idiots, listen up.  Aqua’s going to be here any minute, so you better be fast.  Needles and thread are over there.”  He threw the pants and jacket at them; the pants landed on one Flood’s head.  It twitched in irritation.  Another glared at him, as if to say, _look, Boss, I don’t have fingers.  Get a Scrapper to do it._

“I didn’t ask a Scrapper, I asked _you.”_ He glared back.  “I made you.  I know you can do just fine without fingers.”

The Flood rolled its head - the equivalent of rolling its eyes - but it picked up a needle and went to work.  How they could figure out how to sew when Vanitas didn’t actually know himself, he wasn’t sure, but his Unversed had proven capable enough before.  When they weren’t bursting out of him unexpectedly, they actually made good minions.

He found a half-empty kettle of tea on the ground and warmed it on the fire while his Floods worked.  By the time it was boiling, their little fingerless arms had clumsily stitched up the coat sleeve and attached a new button to the pants.

“Good.”  He gave them a nod of praise.  That was all; any more and it would go to their tiny heads.  He gulped down the scalding tea - only to cough half of it back out.  Void, the stuff was disgusting!  There had better be something inside the party to get the taste out of his mouth.  Grimacing, he tossed the kettle aside and got down to business.

He was going to make this stupid ball a night to remember.

XXX

For all of Terra’s teasing, Aqua wasn’t such a girl “sometimes.”  She was a girl _all the time,_ thank you very much.  So when she stumbled upon a majestic castle holding a ball on this of all nights, could anyone blame her for investigating?  

In her defense, she _had_ protested a little, but the castle guards had been pretty insistent that “every eligible maiden” attend.  While they hadn’t outright forced her, once she entered the castle they took it for granted that she would head towards the ballroom, nevermind the fact that she had been fighting monsters minutes earlier and wasn’t wearing a dress.

The ballroom looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.  Tall pillars growing from the marble floor upheld a balcony that rimmed the room; below men and women conversed, though oddly only a few were dancing.  It was too bad that Terra wasn’t here.  She had bribed him into learning to dance with her several years earlier, before his sense of manhood was too inflated for it.  She wasn’t sure she could dance with any of these men here, not when she stood out like mud tracked inside the castle’s hallways.

What was she thinking?  She wasn’t here to dance.  She was here to look for Terra and Ven.  Shaking her head, she swept her eyes over the ballroom, but saw no one with distinctly spiky hair.

Well, she could ask around at the very least.  This was one of the closest worlds to the Land of Departure; she couldn’t imagine them passing it by.  She was about to approach a group of ladies when a voice called out behind her.

“Madame, I don’t believe I’ve been introduced to you yet.”

“Huh?”  She turned.  A man in a militaristic cream uniform and red trousers stood with a pleasant smile on his face.  “I’m sorry, was I supposed to check in somewhere?”

“Oh, no, not at all,” he replied quickly.  “It’s simply been a goal of mine to greet those who have been so kind to attend this evening.”

Kind?  Whoever was throwing this ball was kind to let anyone and everyone enter.  They had even provided food along one wall, she now noticed; it wouldn’t hurt to grab some of that on her way out…

“I’m Aqua,” she introduced herself.  “If you’ve talked to everyone here, did you meet anyone named Terra or Ven?”

He rubbed his chin.  “I can’t say that I have.  Are they friends of yours?”

She nodded.  “They are.  I guess it was silly of me to think they’d be here, though.”  Terra would probably eat his pants before doing something as girly as going to a ball.  Oh well, it had been worth a shot.  “I should be going.”

“Didn’t you just arrive?”  The man asked.  Aqua belatedly realized that in her haste to ask about Terra and Ven, she’d neglected to learn his name.

“Yes…” she sighed.  “I’m sorry.  I appreciate you coming to talk to me, really.  What was your name?”

“Henri,” he replied with a bow.  

“It’s nice to meet you, Henri.  I hope you have a wonderful night.”  With that, she turned to leave - only to be called back yet again.

“Wait, Aqua.  You don’t hail from this kingdom, do you?”

She glanced down at her outfit.  Maybe she should start buying a change of clothes as soon as she entered a new world.  “It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it.”  She sighed.  “I wasn’t intending on attending the ball tonight or I would have…”  Would have what?  Just waved her keyblade and conjured a gown?

“Please, don’t worry about that.  I only ask because, well…”  He glanced around, as if checking for eavesdroppers, but considering they were in a room full of people, she wasn’t sure how useful that was.  “It’s sort of a long story, but my father is... rather insistent that I begin courting someone.”  He grimaced.  “That sounds rather forward, doesn’t it?  What I meant is, I’m simply not ready for that yet, but I’ll never hear the end of it if I don’t at least try to mingle.  Since you’re from a different kingdom anyway, would you be willing to dance with me?”

Aqua blinked.  That was… a rather strange request.  Or rather, the reason behind it was rather strange.  “What does being from this- from around here have to do with it?”

“Well… let’s just say my father will be _very_ interested in anyone he thinks that I’m interested in.  I wouldn’t want him to be able to hunt down every maiden I dance with.”

Strange as his reasoning was, he seemed sincere.  Besides, why should she turn down a dance with no strings of unknown intentions attached?

“Alright,” she replied, smiling a little.  “I can make time for one dance.”

XXX

Vanitas wanted to throw up.

Aqua was dancing with some loser, sending off enough light that he could taste it from all the way up on the balcony.  How did the idiot do it?  Vanitas had been pacing up here for a good five minutes, trying to decide how to lure Aqua away from the party.  Unversed would have been his first choice, but that would be too obvious.  This was a task that needed to be performed discreetly.

Maybe he was overthinking it.  If that loser could just walk up to her and ask her to dance, then surely Vanitas could too.

The thought of dancing with her made him want to throw up too.  It was the best idea he had, though.  He couldn’t risk waiting too long.  Even if his spell would last, there was always the chance that Terra could show up.  While Vanitas was confident he could take on both keyblade wielders at once, Xehanort would kill him if he hurt his vessel.

_The sooner I get this over with, the better._

A few turning hallways and a flight of stairs took him to the ballroom entrance.  He tugged on the collar of his buttoned jacket, which somehow seemed to choke him more than his tight suit.  Now was the moment of truth.  Would anyone notice him?

He stepped inside.  Nothing exploded.  No one screamed.  In a strange irony to how exposed he felt without his mask, he was more invisible than he’d ever been before.

With a confident stride, he made his way through chatting and dancing couples in the direction he’d last seen Aqua.  As he did, though, a table of appetizers and desserts caught his eye.  He paused, torn between getting his mission over with, and stealing some deliciously unguarded food.

His watering mouth made the decision for him.  After loading up his hands with tiny cakes and sandwiches, it was much easier to focus.  He shoved them into his mouth one by one as he made his way to the center of the ballroom.

He wasn’t the only one who was interested in Aqua, apparently.  A whole crowd had gathered around her and the well-dressed loser.

“But who is she, Mother?”  A girl with a pink dress and a feather sticking up a foot over her head asked.

“Do we know her?”  Asked a different girl who looked just as disgusting.  More disgusting, actually, because her dress was puke green.

“Well, the Prince certainly seems to,” the first girl said.

_Prince?  That dancing idiot is in charge here?_ Of _course_ Aqua would have been able to attract the most important person in the room. Besides himself, of course.  A growl rose in the back of his throat.  How was he supposed to sneak her out of here when she’d attracted the attention of the whole ball?

His eyes flickered to the girls in the disgusting dresses, who were watching Aqua with envy.  No wonder the prince wanted to dance with her if girls like this were his other option.  

That gave him an idea.

“Hey, you.”  He pointed to the girl in the pink dress, who jumped in surprise.  “What’s your name?”

“Who are _you?”_ She asked, searching him with her eyes.  He resisted the urge to cringe at what might have been his first case of eye contact ever, and instead stared right back at her.

“I’m a guy who can get you a dance with the prince.”

That was all he needed to say.  The girl nearly fell over herself to tell him her name, Anastasia.  A much prettier name than the face it was attached to. Her green-dressed sister gaped as he led Anastasia into the empty circle of floor where Aqua and the prince were dancing.

“I’ll take care of the girl.  You just be ready to take her place with the prince,” he instructed Anastasia.

“Oh, I was _born_ ready,” she gushed breathily.  Ugh.  If he had been anyone else, he would’ve felt guilty for dumping this idiot on anyone.  But he was Vanitas, so he didn’t.

Forget Anastasia; Aqua was the only one who mattered now.  He was confident in his cloaking spell, but if there would be anyone who could somehow see through it, it would be her.  He resisted the urge to tug on his collar, took a deep breath, and slipped in between the dancing partners.  

His fingers twined tightly with Aqua’s; his other hand found her waist.  It was so quick that she barely had time to gasp at the switch. His head spun at her light-filled scent; he nearly tripped as he twirled her away from the prince.  He vaguely saw Anastasia pounce on the man like a hungry piranha.

“Wh-where did you come from?” Aqua sputtered.  In spite of her shock, she kept her waltz in perfect time, which was more than he could say for himself.  For all his grace and speed on the battlefield, he didn’t know a thing about dancing.  Thankfully this particular song didn’t call for anything fancy; he watched her feet and mimicked the motions.

He shrugged with a smirk and called upon the narrative he had invented for himself.  “Same as you, I’d suspect.  Not around here.”  For all the confidence he projected, his half-heart was racing.  Aside from when he stole light from the Princesses of Heart, the only time he’d been this close to someone was in combat.  And that someone was usually Xehanort.  Xehanort didn’t smell intoxicatingly of honeysuckle and cold rain, Aqua’s particular flavor of light.  Though it wasn't as strong as the Princesses of Heart, it was crisp and sharp, like it could cut through him without even trying.

Aqua looked startled that he had recognized her foreignness so easily, but he didn't know why.  She hadn’t even bothered to don a disguise.  All the better for him; seeing her in one of those hideous dresses might have made him decide to kill her too soon.

“Well, thank you,” she said, shocking him.  “All that attention was starting to make me uncomfortable.”

He lifted his eyes from their feet to glance around.  Though some clusters of people still looked interested in them, most had remained focused on the prince and his new graceless dance partner.

“If you’re not looking for attention, then why were you dancing with the prince?”  He asked suspiciously.

Her eyes widened.  “That was the _prince?_ It all makes so much more sense now… I thought they were just staring because I’m dressed… well, not in a dress.”

That was still probably a part of it.  Prince or no prince, Aqua would likely draw stares no matter where she went.  “And thank the- thank the _light_ for that,” he muttered, nearly choking on the word.  “I don’t know a thing about fashion, but even I could tell you all those dresses deserve to be set on fire.”  He snorted.  “So you didn’t know he was the prince, huh?  Then how did he get you to dance with him?”

“It was a favor,” she replied, then blushed.  “That sounds arrogant.  He asked me because I’m from out of town, that’s all.”

_And you said yes?  Why?_ Because she was a girl and would just dance with anyone, probably.  After all, she was dancing with him without any complaint.

“I wasn’t planning on staying long, though.  In fact, I should be going…”

Well, almost no complaint.  He frowned dangerously.  Which, of course, she could see now that he wasn’t wearing his mask.  Void, this was harder than he’d thought.  Too bad he couldn’t just kill all these people and be done with it.

“Please,” he said, channeling his inner (well, outer) Ventus.  It didn’t work, because the word burned his throat on the way out.  “I could use a favor more than that id- prince,” he caught himself.

“Well… alright.  Since you did get me out of there.”  She smiled a little.  It was surreal, being on the other end of that expression.  

_She has no idea,_ he realized in relief.  His cloaking spell was working better than he’d thought.

“I’m Aqua, by the way,” she introduced herself as they waltzed, slowly drifting towards the less-populated side of the ballroom.

He barely stopped himself from saying _“I know.”_ He couldn’t get so complacent; the draw of her light was still clouding his judgement.  How long would it take his nose to get used to it?  Maybe he could take a little extra time to find out.

“What’s your name?”  She asked when he didn’t offer it in return.

He cursed mentally.  In his invented reason for being at the ball, he hadn’t thought to include a fake name.  How had that obvious fact escaped him?

He realized something that almost make him laugh aloud: he didn’t need a pseudonym.  Aqua didn’t know his real name - and she wasn’t going to live long enough to find out.

“Vanitas,” he answered with a smirk.

“Vanitas,” she echoed, somehow managing to make his name sound _melodious._ It was the most bizarre thing he’d ever heard.  “Doesn’t that mean ‘emptiness’ in…?”

“Yeah,” he replied curtly.  Of course she’d know her Latin.  “Not my pick, but it fits.”

No, if he had _his_ pick, he’d still be Ven, and the idiot running around with his face would’ve been stuck with the new name.  But he’d worn it long enough now to get attached to it.

“...Do you mind if I ask why?”

His fingers constricted around her hand.  “Yeah. I do.”

“I’m sorry.”  He could feel her palm begin to sweat.  He couldn’t scare her off now, not until he could find an excuse for them to move outside.  With the party in full swing, the courtyard was sure to be empty now.

“Whatever,” he mumbled.  Talking about himself would only lead to uncomfortable situations; he needed to keep the conversation about her.  While also avoiding insulting her or being an all-around jerk.

Let it never be said that he backed down from a challenge.

“Why did you come to this st- party anyway?”  He asked.  His collar itched, but he couldn’t risk letting go of Aqua to tug on it.  The second he moved away, he was afraid she’d somehow manage to slip away, and then he’d have to track her down to some other backwater world.

“I was looking for some friends of mine,” she answered.  “But, I was also told that ‘every eligible maiden’ was supposed to come.  The guards were… rather insistent.”

“Huh.”  He had a hard time imagining anyone forcing Aqua into anything.  He’d spied on her enough times to know how stubborn she was, seen her argue with that bullheaded Terra more than he could count.  How those two were even friends always confused him.  “You find who you were looking for?” He tried to keep his voice casual.

“No, unfortunately.”  She sighed.  

_Fortunately for me,_ Vanitas thought.

“I know one of them is avoiding me.  Possibly even both of them,” she said for some unfathomable reason.  Did he look like he cared about her life problems?  ...Well, he _had_ asked.  See, this was why there was no point in being nice.  Then people just thought you wanted to hear them spill their guts.

“Sounds like they’re not very good friends then,” he replied bluntly.  

After all, they weren’t.  Terra took her for granted and was jealous of her; Ventus thought she was controlling and overbearing.  That was how Vanitas interpreted their actions, anyway.  They didn’t deserve Aqua; he’d known that much for a long time.

That’s why it would be so satisfying to make them lose her.

“That’s not true,” Aqua countered.  Of course she would defend them, no matter how many times she got stepped on.  “They’re both just going through some difficult times right now.  I know they’ll come around.  I just hope I can keep them safe until then…  But, you’ve heard enough about me.  What about you?  What brought you to this ‘stupid party’?”

He blinked at the knowing smile on her lips.  So she’d caught that, had she?  He was going to have to up his game - or try a different approach.  He snorted.  “Same as you, actually.  Just looking for someone.”

“Oh?  Did you find them?”

“...Yeah,” he replied, a smirk tugging on his own lips.  The best lies were the ones that held some truth.

He lifted his eyes from his shuffling feet to catch her gaze for a moment before needing to focus again.  The one-two-three gliding motion was almost starting to feel natural when the tempo of the orchestra shifted.  He groaned as her movements sped up to match.

“You don’t have much experience with dancing, do you?”  She laughed, pulling him along.

“No,” he deadpanned.  “Dancing is-”

He bit his tongue, but she got the idea.  Her eyebrows rose.  “Let me guess: stupid?”

“Am I that predictable?”  He muttered.  He hadn’t realized he’d said that out loud until he caught her stifling a laugh.

“You’re certainly interesting, Vanitas.” She fell into a back-and-forth swaying pattern that didn’t match the music as well, but didn’t tangle his feet.  Thank the Void for that, the last thing he needed was to trip and fall on his face when he didn’t have his helmet on.  “If you don’t like dancing, then why were you so eager to dance with me?”

Curse him and his loose tongue.  It was his first time talking to anyone but Xehanort or his Unversed, but that was no reason for him to be so careless.  

He looked up.  Without the distraction of the complicated waltz, he was finally able to hold her gaze for the first time.  Her eyes were so blue, the kind of blue his used to be.  The chandelier’s light danced in them, but for the moment, paired with her sharp smell, he thought it was her own light seeping out.

“Because you’re beautiful,”he said simply.  Strangely enough, those words didn’t stick in his throat.  They tumbled out easily, despite a Hareraiser of embarrassment threatening to escape with them.  Why should he be embarrassed, though?  It was the perfect lie.

After all, the best lie was the one that was true.

A blush spread over her face.  “Thank you…?”

Why did she look so awkward?  He finally said something nice for once in his life, and she looked ready to run again.  Girls made absolutely no sense.

“That wasn’t a compliment.  That was a fact.”  He shrugged, feeling his own face heat in spite of himself.  At least the Unversed wasn’t trying to burst free anymore.

She dodged his gaze, but said the last thing he ever expected her to utter.  “Um, well… you’re rather handsome yourself.”

The ballroom could've exploded right then and he wouldn’t have noticed.  He stopped swaying.  Blinked.  Opened his mouth, and closed it again.  “... _What?”_

She raised her eyebrows.  Something twinkled in her eyes; he was sure it wasn’t a reflection this time.  “That’s  just a fact, you know.”

...Was she teasing him?  Or worse: was she _flirting_ with him?  Sure, he’d been confident he could get her to dance with him, but this… he needed to end this, quickly.  Before the thrill stealthily rising inside him and her intoxicating smell wiped out his better judgement entirely.

“...Of course I know.”  He let go of her waist to tug on his collar.  Stupid scratchy embroidery.  “Now that we both know we’re attractive, how about we ditch the stupid dancing and get some fresh air?”

“Um, I-”

He didn’t give her much choice.  He dragged her by the hand towards a side door of the ballroom, grabbing a tiny cake off the refreshment table as they sped past.  Right as the slipped through the door, he thought he saw a certain brunette keyblade wielder enter the room, with - who the heck was that?  The sparkles on her dress threatened to blind him.  

_That was close,_ he thought as he shoved the cake in his mouth.

A few moments later they stood on a balcony overlooking a sprawling garden, lit by a near-full moon.  The crisp night air cleared the fog shadowing his brain.  What was he doing?  He was here to kill Aqua, not court her!  Xehanort’s orders were clear: Aqua had no place in their plans.  They had planned to ignore her, until she surprised Xehanort by passing her Mark of Mastery.  He didn’t know why the old geezer had been surprised; Vanitas knew Aqua had more brains going for her than Ventus and Terra put together, and her magical skills were nothing short of impressive.

Clearly, she was a threat.  A threat that stood next to him, leaning against the balcony, still holding his hand.

_Get over yourself.  If she knew who you really are, the only way she’d get this close to you would be to slit your throat._

That was a lie - and not the true kind.  She’d send a Triple Firaga his way, so she wouldn’t even have to get that close.

He mentally cursed when she looked towards him with concern in her eyes.  Ditching the mask had seemed like such a good idea at the time, but now…

“Is something wrong?”  She asked.

Deja vu punched him in the face.  Had he not heard that same question only a few hours ago, only to realize no one would ever say it to him?  Stupid as it sounded, the three-word sentence warmed the void of his heart.

Even if this was all a lie, even if it could never last, he was going to clutch it until it was ripped from his fingers.

“I’m-” he turned away and sniffed, “fine.”

Wow.   _That_ was convincing.  What in the Void was he doing?  He didn’t cry - not anymore.  He just had to remind his body of that.

“Vanitas,” Aqua said softly, placing her free hand on his shoulder, “I don’t know why you really came here, or why you wanted to dance with me, or what you’re going through…  but is there any way I can help?”

_Yeah.  You can die.  Or you can stand back and watch while the old geezer and I possess your friends.  Take your pick._

“No.”  The tears dried up before they could form.  He was surprised no Floods had tried to leak out; maybe stealing that girl’s light had suppressed his disobedient emotions.  If so, it was a welcome side-effect.

“Are you sure?”  She asked sincerely.

That was when he thought of something - something his pride barely allowed him to think.  Something he would barely admit to himself.  Something he wanted more than almost anything.

“Actually…”  He choked out the words, “Can I… can I have a hug?”

He was pathetic.  Completely, utterly pathetic.  At least he had the dignity not to make puppy eyes like Ventus would have.  ...Even if his would’ve been way better.

She blinked at his request, but her surprise didn’t last long.  “Of course.”  Leave it to Aqua to feel comfortable hugging a complete stranger.

She let go of his hand to wrap her arms around him.  He hadn’t thought this through - her scent was everywhere, flowers and rain and everything pure and burning and searing and beautiful and _painful._ But pain, that was something he was used to.  The feeling layered beneath it, though… _that_ was something new.  Something warm, but not in a way that burned; something that filled him, but not with hate or rage.

It felt exactly how he imagined reuniting with Ventus would feel.

He finally remembered to put his arms around her too.  Then, fearing she would let go, he held her as tightly as he could, fingers digging into the back of her shirt.  

_A real person,_ he thought deliriously.   _A real person is actually hugging me.  And I have to kill her._

The thought just made him cling tighter.  He had to be crushing her lungs by now, or she was stronger than he thought.  She let go with one arm, but before he could panic, her fingers were combing the haphazard spikes of his hair.

_I’m not your freaking pet,_ he mentally protested, but the words wouldn’t find their way to his lips.  The small gesture was something he’d seen her do to Ventus.  He’d always vaguely wondered how it would feel to be in his other half’s place, surrounded by friends who cared about him.  Maybe Aqua had finally given him a taste.

_I can’t do this.  I’m a heart of darkness, for Void’s sake.  I can’t let her light get to me…_

Now would be a perfect time.  She wouldn’t be expecting a thing.  Just cast Stop, and then shoot a bolt of Dark Thundaga through her heart.  She wouldn’t even know what hit her.

She would die comforting him, over a curse she didn’t even understand.

“Vanitas, are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”  She asked, still running her fingers gently through his hair.

“I’m sure,” he mumbled into her shoulder.  “But Aqua… thank you.”

They were the last words he ever expected to leave his mouth.  Even worse was the fact that he actually meant them.

She smiled.  He couldn’t see it; he face was still pressed against her shoulder.  Instead, he felt it grace the top of his head.  “Thank _you._ For trusting me, even though we only just met.  For letting me help you.”

Heh… she had no idea.

Feeling as if he were peeling off his own skin, he pulled back from her.  He was only delaying the inevitable, he knew, but there was something he wanted to ask her while he still could.

“Aqua… _why_ did you want to help me?  Why are you being so nice to me?”

She frowned slightly.  The moon cast long shadows across her face, making the frown look deeper than it actually was.  “Is there a reason I shouldn’t be?”

_Yeah.  About a million of them._ “Don’t answer my question with another question.”

She stared out over the garden, thinking.  “Then I suppose I’d say… because I wanted to get to know you.  Someone who has a name that means emptiness, and with eyes as sad as yours… You seemed like someone who could use a little extra light in your day.”

_Sad?_ Once again, his face betrayed him.  As soon as he was done here, he was shoving his helmet on and never taking it off again.

“Huh,” he grunted.  It wasn’t much of a reason.  It sounded like she wasn’t even expecting to get anything out of their meeting.  It was so… selfless.  He could hardly comprehend it.  “And here I thought it might just be because I was handsome.”

She laughed, but the moonlight caught her blush.  “You certainly seem to think highly of yourself.”

_Says the one who said it first._ “Figure I might as well.  I don’t expect anyone else to do it for me.”  It came out more depressing than he meant it, but he was tired of the pity party.  “Come on, I’ve had enough of the view from here.  Let’s go for a walk.”

He turned without waiting to see if she wanted to follow.  

_One last chance,_ he thought.   _It’ll be safer down in the garden, anyway.  Less chance of witnesses._

After all, no matter how much his suddenly bipolar heart protested, it would come down to his life or hers.  And he wasn’t nearly as selfless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this didn’t escalate too fast, this is a bit different style than how I’ve written Van/Aqua before, and I hope it doesn’t come off as too OOC. Next chapter will be some more Terra’s POV and then maybe Aqua too.
> 
> Also, if you like Van/Aqua, there’s a poll you can vote on in my profile for what project I should work on next. (Not that the Terra/Cinderella and Van/Aqua option on there is this story, so if you vote for that I’ll consider it to mean updating this one faster.)


	3. Wishing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally back with more of this story! :D This chapter took a while, but I’m happy with how it turned out!

The ball was a blur of dresses and dancing, talking and twirling, all wrapped in a surreal haze.  Terra hadn’t seen so many people since leaving his homeworld to train under Master Eraqus.  He had only been ten then, a carefree and outgoing child.  If his path hadn’t taken a sharply unexpected turn, maybe he would have grown into someone who felt comfortable in a place like this, mingling with well-dressed strangers.  Well, maybe not the well-dressed part.  Fashion never would’ve been part of his skillset no matter what world he grew up on.  As it was, though, the crowd made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.  So many people in one place, with only a few routes of exit.  His eyes flitted to those exits every few minutes, as if to make sure they wouldn’t suddenly disappear.  Best to be prepared in case any Unversed did decide to crash the party.

“Did you spot those monsters again?” Cinderella asked with a hint of worry, though it didn’t interrupt the pace of her waltzing.

He shook his head, clenching his hand that hovered by her waist into a fist.  It had been cupped ready to summon a keyblade.  “Sorry.  Just staying on guard.”

“No need to apologize, Terra.” She smiled.  “I suppose that’s to be expected from a knight.”

He stifled a sigh.  It was doubtful that anything would convince her that he was no knight in shining armor, and he couldn’t make the argument without exposing himself to deeper questions.

In time with the orchestra, he gracefully twirled her out and in again.  Who would have guessed Aqua’s forced ballroom dance lessons would pay off?  He wasn’t half bad, he liked to think; waltzing was just like a shorter, more controlled version of his Slide command.

Cinderella smoothed her skirts with one hand while keeping hold of his with her other.  “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you learn to dance without ever attending a ball?”

“A good friend of mine taught me,” he was relieved to be able to answer honestly.  “She would love this place.”

“You mean she didn't come?” Cinderella frowned.  “But every eligible maiden was supposed to attend.”

“Well, uh…”  _ Here we go again.   _ Much as he enjoyed this time with Cinderella, he should find an excuse to leave soon, before she managed to sneak out all of his secrets.  “She had to stay home.  She had some, uh, important stuff to do.”

“That’s too bad,” she said, seeming to take his answer at face value.

It was, really.  He and Aqua had always wanted to explore the worlds together.  He had assumed that would happen when they were both masters.  How was it that he had ended up here, while she was still back in the Land of Departure?  Shouldn’t Master Eraqus have sent them both on a mission this important?

Then again, if the Master had, then Terra certainly wouldn’t be dancing here with a beautiful woman in his arms.  

“What about your stepsisters?” He asked, changing the subject away from Aqua.  “Are they here, if every girl was supposed to come?”

“Yes, they left for the ball before you came,” she said with a brief flash of worry.  “It’s quite crowded, however.  I doubt they will notice us.”

_ What would happen if they did?  _ Terra wondered.  He hadn’t pressed Cinderella for details, but her family had clearly torn her original clothes apart, and possibly injured her as well.  They obviously didn’t want her to be here.

He did another survey of the ballroom.  When he focused on the other ballgoers’ faces rather than the room’s exits, he realized just how many stares they were drawing.  Whether it was his own conspicuous clothing, or Cinderella’s magical gown, he had no way of telling.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” he murmured, rotating their waltz so she could see the faces that he had.  “Do you recognize any of these people?”

She gasped, pulling closer to him. If it wasn’t for the poofiness of her skirts, she could have hidden in his silhouette.  “Drizella and my stepmother.  I don’t believe they were looking this way.”

Terra’s instincts told him to get Cinderella out of there anyway.  As much as he wanted to sweep her towards one of the exits, she might not appreciate him making the decision to cut her magical experience short.  Besides, what could her family do in public?  

_ Force me to remove her heart?   _ While the thought had originally come to mind as a joke, it made him wince.  This night had been going entirely too well, with no evil forces trying to use him for their purposes.  He was jumping to conclusions, he knew, but he still didn’t want to take chances.

“Should we go?”  He asked Cinderella in a whisper.

She looked torn, trying to glance at the two women lingering in the crowd behind him.  He snuck a glance over his shoulder to make sure he could identify them.  One older woman in a purple dress, and a younger one in green.  True to Cinderella’s word, they did seem to have their backs to them, their focus turned towards something on the other side of the ballroom.

“Where’s Anastasia?”  Cinderella asked, more to herself than him.

“Cinderella,” he called back her attention.  He hadn’t wanted to interrupt her wonderful night with unpleasant thoughts, but he needed to know what they were dealing with.  “I saw what you looked like before that fairy lady showed up.  What did your stepfamily do to you?  Will they hurt you if they find you here?”

Cinderella winced.  Suddenly in her face he could see the shadow of the girl who had been kneeling alone in the night, crying and broken.  “They… don’t hurt me.  Not physically, at least.”

Terra didn’t find that very reassuring.  “What do they do?”

“They make me work harder, mostly.  They give me more arduous chores, and they say… rather unpleasant things.  But it could be far worse.”

“Things can always be worse.  That doesn’t make it okay for them to treat you badly.”  He was surprised by the anger in his voice.  He didn’t even know her stepfamily.  All he knew was that Cinderella’s heart was filled with light; anyone who would try to take advantage of that was undeserving of his respect.

She looked away.  “...Perhaps you’re right.  I have learned to endure it, though.”

Terra shook his head.  If he’d been in her situation, he would’ve fought his way free.  Then again, he had a few inches and about a hundred pounds on her, not to mention a keyblade.  What was a girl like her supposed to do?

“No point in you having to endure anything more tonight.  We should go,” he urged her.

“I… suppose you’re right.”  She sighed.

Careful to keep himself between her and the women, just in case they turned around, Terra made for the western exit.  Along the way he passed a refreshment table that looked like it had been ransacked.  Feeling slightly guilty, he took a moment to sweep some tiny sandwiches up in a napkin and stuff them in his pocket.  If Aqua knew how little preparation he’d taken before leaving the Land of Departure, she would have given him a good scolding.  His meager stash of food had run out the day before, and while he had money from defeating Unversed, he’d yet to find a market in the previous two worlds he’d visited.  At least this world was inhabited by more than dwarves and witches, so that was promising.

He shook his head, taking longer strides to catch up to Cinderella.  His stomach was hardly the most pressing issue at the moment.

They emerged onto a balcony that sprawled over a starlit garden.  Fountains gurgled as they reflected the pinprick lights of other worlds.

_ All those places I can escape to, and yet she’s stuck here…   _ If he needed further proof that life wasn’t fair, this was enough.

“I think we’ll be safe from them out here,” he said.  “Wouldn’t want you to have to go all the way home when it’s only…” He glanced up at the clocktower that loomed in the distance, “eleven o’clock at night.”  Later than he’d thought.  How had the time slipped away so quickly?

Cinderella beamed.  “One more hour of wonder.  Oh, thank you, Terra.  If my stepmother had seen me, she surely would have sent me home at once.”

“To be honest,” he replied a little sheepishly, “I’m not sure they would have recognized you.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said while fingering her silk headband.  “Surely a nice dress hasn’t changed me  so much.”

“I wasn’t just talking about the dress.  I was talking about your strength.”  He smiled.

“My…?” She laughed.  “Now you’re just being silly.”

“No, I mean it!  You stayed completely calm when those Unversed attacked.  That takes courage.”

“I hid under a seat,” she replied flatly.

“Which isn’t panicking,” he said with a shrug.  “Plus you chose to come to this ball even knowing that your family would punish you if they found out.  Have you ever done anything like this before?”

“Well… no,” she admitted.  He wasn’t surprised; she just didn’t look like someone who would disobey orders.  Unless it was for a ball, apparently.

“Then that’s courage.”  Not everyone could run keyblade-first into battle.  He hadn’t understood her unique kind of strength when he had first met her, but to be as kind as she was, after enduring what she had… Terra didn’t know that he could’ve done it.

“Hmm… if you say so,” she said with a slight smile.  She thought he was just trying to flatter her, probably.  Part of him did want to make up for underestimating her before, but what he’d said was true.

They walked down the length of the balcony, staring out over the grounds.  No more Unversed, Terra noticed.

“Would you mind if we took a walk down there?”  Cinderella asked.

“Sure,” Terra agreed.  It would be farther from her stepfamily, which was safer, as far as he was concerned.  Maybe he shouldn’t be so paranoid, but he couldn’t help thinking that a little more caution would have served him on his last two worlds.

As they strolled down the steps towards the garden, he asked, “So, Cinderella.  What do you do when you’re not waltzing around a ballroom?”

She chuckled.  “Clean one, usually.  I’m a serving girl.”

“And you got those calluses just from cleaning?”  He asked.  He’d felt the roughness in her hand as they’d danced.

“That, chopping wood, scrubbing clothes… My talents are rather varied,” she said in a satisfied way that made the menial labor sound dignified.

“That sounds… well, not fun.”  He grimaced.  It reminded him of his chores at the Land of Departure.

“It’s not so bad.”  She shrugged as they passed a flowing fountain.  Her reflection mingled with the starlight in the water.  “I sing while I work, and I have some friends that help me from time to time.”

_ Friends?   _ Terra wondered.  Hadn’t she said something earlier about not often having friendly conversation with humans?  He debated asking, then thought better of it.

“What about you?  What is it like being a knight?”

“Ah.  Right.  Well…”  He ruffled his hair.  “It’s a lot of training, mostly.  Practicing with the k- sword, sparring with the other ap- knights.  There’s actually a lot of cleaning involved too.”

“Really?”  She asked with interest.

“Yeah.  I know my way around a broom and mop.”  He smiled.  “Getting to visit other wor- kingdoms, though, that makes it all worth it.”

“I bet it does.”  She gave a happy sigh at the thought, sitting down on the edge of the fountain.  Water droplets dotted her back, but she didn’t seem to notice.  “To see other kingdoms… oh, I can hardly imagine.  It sounds wonderful.”

“Have you ever been anywhere else?”  Terra asked, sitting beside her.  The fountain’s spray actually felt comfortable on his back; he was still warm from the crowded ballroom.

She shook her head. “Not since I was young.  My father used to take me with him on his visits to other cities, until he passed away.  My stepmother would never let me do that now, even if she were to travel.”

She stared up at the stars.  The lights reflected in the blue of her eyes.  Millions of worlds, and this was the closest she would ever be to them.

“I wish I could bring you with me,” he found himself saying before he could think.  What  _ was  _ he thinking?  He barely knew this girl!  And it was absolutely forbidden to reveal the knowledge of other worlds, much less bring a person to one.

And yet, he found that he meant it.  He wished he could show her the worlds, see the rapture on her face as she took them in.  It was utter fantasy.  The worlds weren’t even safe, not with the Unversed still on the loose.

She looked to him with her lips parted in a silent gasp.  “Is that something you could do?”

He winced.  Bad enough for him to indulge in impossible thoughts; he didn’t need to get her hopes up, too.  “No.  Knights travel alone, or with other knights.  It would break every rule in the book for me to bring someone else along.”

“Oh.”  Her head hung.  “I believe in dreams coming true, but I suppose that would be a bit much, even for me.”  Then she turned a smile towards him.  “Maybe I’ll just have to become a knight myself someday.”

It was clearly a joke, he could tell, but he played along.  “Chopping wood isn’t that much different from swinging a sword.  You’d probably do just fine.”

She laughed.  “Maybe so, but I wouldn’t be able to swing that sword at a person to save my life.”

“Hey, we don’t often have to fight people.  Unversed, Heartless; those are our real enemies.”

“Heartless?” She asked curiously.  Him and his big mouth again.  Well, it wasn’t like Heartless were necessarily a secret.

“They’re monsters, like the Unversed you’ve seen.  They’re made out of darkness though, while Unversed are said to be made out of emotions.”

“Hmm.  Well, I don’t see anything wrong with fighting darkness.”  She smiled.  The small expression could have lit up the entire night.

They settled into a comfortable silence, listening to the sound of the wind and the bubbling of water.  For perhaps the first time since leaving the Land of Departure, Terra didn’t even think about his mission.  He thought about the wonder of the worlds, and how they would look through her eyes.  Brighter, surely.  No one would have convinced  _ her  _ to try and steal someone’s heart.

He didn’t want to think about that now.  So he didn’t.

Following an impulse, he put an arm around Cinderella’s back.  He half expected her to be surprised, but instead she leaned in, resting her head against his shoulder.  Part of him wondered what he was doing, why he was letting himself get this close to a girl he was certainly going to have to leave.  But he supposed she would have to leave anyone that she met here.  This was one night of magic for both of them.

And if she wanted to spend it with him, who was he to stop her?

XXX

It turned out that Vanitas’s nose adjusted to the scent of light after approximately an hour.  In that time he had slapped some sense back into himself.  Sniffling and asking for hugs?  Really?  His pride would probably never recover.  It was the lack of his helmet, he was sure; it was so easy to lose himself in this delusion when Aqua treated him like a normal person.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t enjoying it, he reluctantly admitted.

“Seven skips,” he announced smugly, leaning against the post of the bridge.  “Beat that, Aqua.”

She laughed, picking up another smooth stone from the edge of the stream.  “You don’t know who you’re dealing with, Vanitas.  I’ve been skipping rocks practically since I was born.”

“I’ve been skipping rocks for approximately ten minutes, and I’m still winning.”  He smirked.  The ten-minutes part wasn’t entirely true; he remembered skipping rocks with his dad, but that was before Ventus was split out of him.  Those memories were full of holes and fragments.  For some reason the farther back he went, the clearer they were; the few years spent training with Xehanort leading up to his accident were the hardest to remember.  

“Not for long,” she promised, tossing the rock up and down before launching it across the water with a sharp flick of her wrist.  One skip, two, three, then four-five-six-seven-eight in quick succession.  “There we go!”

Vanitas scowled.  “Lucky hit.”

Aqua chuckled.  “I just had to warm up.  It’s been awhile since my friends and I made it out to the lake.”

His skin prickled at her mention of her friends.  He had managed to control his words over the last hour though, and held in a snide comment that a dead fish probably could’ve beaten those two at skipping rocks.  Which also wasn’t true, because Ventus presumably had all of Vanitas’s skill, too.

The sour thought fueled a rather reckless throw.  His rock broke the surface of the stream with a sad  _ plunk. _

“Whatever,” he grumbled.  “Skipping rocks is stupid, anyway.”

“Oh, now that you’re losing, it’s stupid?”  Aqua teased, reaching out a hand like she wanted to ruffle his hair, then thought better of it.  Good choice, because he would’ve had to bat it away anyway.  He couldn’t risk letting her touch him again, not after how irrationally emotional he had become last time.

The truth was, those emotions still hadn’t burned themselves out, even though he had fortified his earlier facade.   _ Forget the witnesses, I should have just killed her at the start.  When she still made me want to break things. _

“I’m sorry if I offended you,” Aqua said sincerely, stepping into the shallow water so she would be in front of his downcast eyes.  Vanitas snorted.  Offend him?  He was the most offensive person in the worlds.  True that that didn’t mean he could take it the same way he could dish it out, but her remark had hardly crossed his mind.  Maybe it would be best to pretend it had, though.

“Forget it,” he brushed her off and bent down to pick up another round stone.   _ I could always just nail her with it.  Pretend I missed.   _ He entertained the thought briefly before before sending the stone skipping across the stream’s surface.  “Seven again,” he muttered.  His dad would have been ashamed to see him get beaten by a girl.  Not that it mattered, because he would never see him again.

“Seven’s pretty good, for only ten minutes’ worth of practice,” encouraged Aqua.  “You’re a natural.”  

Vanitas stared at her in puzzlement.  First she was gloating, then it was as if she wanted him to win?  No, she was probably just patronizing him.  He crushed the growl rising in his throat.

_ What does it matter how she talks to me?  I’m just going to kill her anyway. _

He snuck a glance at the clocktower that rose in the distance.  Just past eleven thirty.  He’d arrived at the ball around ten.  Somehow, against his better judgement, he’d managed to waste an hour and a half tolerating Aqua’s presence.

_ And she’s wasted an hour and a half tolerating mine,  _ he realized.  That was the real shock.  Cloaking spell or not, the darkness was in his veins, his personality, his very soul.  What could she see in him to take a whole night she could use looking for her friends and instead spend it with him?

_ “Eyes as sad as yours…” _

He shook his head.  He was  _ not  _ sad.  Very soon he would be very, very happy.  Just as soon as she was gone.

His brain thought the words, but his irregular heartbeat disagreed.

“Vanitas?”  Aqua asked after finishing skipping a stone of her own.  In the back of his mind he counted the ten ripples.   _ Ten.   _ That shouldn’t even be possible.  “We can do something else, if you want.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t ask if he was alright, even though his unmasked face broadcasted more of his conflict than he would’ve liked.   Maybe she was smarter than he gave her credit for.

“Sure.”  He shrugged apathetically.  The embroidery on his collar scratched his neck, making him regret the motion.

They started crossing the stream via the delicate arching bridge, but Aqua paused when they reached its center and tilted her head up.  “Look at that.”

“What?”  He grumbled for the sake of it.  He should keep his tone civil, he knew logically, especially since he could feel his cloaking spell beginning to fade.  He still had time yet, but a flare of darkness could pierce it like his keyblade through a Shadow.

“The stars,” she breathed with a smile.  “They’re so much different here…”  

She stiffened, as if realizing she wasn’t supposed to have said that.  Vanitas ignored the motion and looked up himself, squinting.

Then his eyes widened.  He had never looked at the night sky without his helmet on before.  Was this world special, or were there always so many bright lights up there?  They looked like the glowing eyes of thousands of Heartless.  Only much less eerie.  In spite of being a heart of pure darkness himself, there was something about the Heartless - Neoshadows in particular - that sent involuntary shivers down his spine.  Lost memories from before the split, probably.

Aqua heard his slight gasp of awe.  “Are the stars new to you, too?”

If she was trying to confirm him being an outworlder, she was going to have to try harder than that.  “...You could say that.”  He had vague memories of staring up at the stars with his parents, but they were so fuzzy they could have belonged to someone else.   _ Do belong to someone else,  _ he thought ironically.  “I don’t get out much,” he mumbled finally.

“I suppose you could say the same thing about me,” she said with a wry smile.  “I recognize some of these constellations though, even though others look different tonight.”

“Constellations,” he tasted the word.  Old and melodious.  Something possessed him to say, “tell me about them.”

She happily obliged.  “See those three points?  Along with the dimmer ones beneath, they make up the King’s Crown.”

He squinted harder, face scrunching in a way that he would’ve found undignified if he happened to glance down at his reflection in the water.  “I see a bunch of dots.  Are you saying they’re supposed to make a picture or something?”

“Mm-hmm, that’s what a constellation is,” she explained without an ounce of sarcasm.  The word’s definition clicked in place, settling out of the debris of unlinked memories.

“Huh.”  He grunted, wishing he had some kind of magnification spell.  His night vision was exceptional, but the stars… there were just so  _ many  _ of them, they seemed to swim in his sight like a sea of sparks.  “Show me another one.”

She pointed up towards a curved line of five bright dots.  “That’s the Hydra’s Back.  I’m not sure why it’s named that, rather than after one of the creature’s many necks.”  He nodded, picking out that one with less difficulty.  He guessed the curve looked a little snakelike, if you stretched your imagination.  “Then there’s the Cheshire’s Grin…”

She described the arrangements of stars while he followed her pointing finger with his gaze.  The names brought order to the chaos, made patterns out of the star ocean.  It was surprisingly soothing, listening to her voice, watching images blossom in the sky.  He swore she was actually using magic to highlight the constellations now, with the assumption that he wouldn’t notice.

“If you look closely at those blue-tinted ones, you’ll see that they look almost like a keyblade.”  She coughed, catching herself.  “Key, I mean.”

He nodded, accepting her lie, though it brought a smirk to his face to realize that she was having as hard a time choosing her words as he had.  The stars had opened her up more than she had been before.

“You know a lot about those little lights,” he remarked offhandedly.  

“Stargazing is one of my favorite hobbies,” she replied with a shrug, leaning into the bridge’s railing.  “My friends and I love to sit outside at night and imagine…”

He raised an eyebrow as she blushed.  The expression prompted her to finish, “Imagine visiting all those far-off places.  But that’s silly, of course.  Impossible.”

“Of course.”  His smirk widened.  If he had really been the innocent civilian he pretended, the words would have registered as idle fantasies.  Her bluff wasn’t bad; he just had the knowledge to see through it. “What did you think you’d find out there?  Worlds made of rainbows and gumdrops?” He joked.   _ Bet that’s what Ventus hoped.  We always did like sweet food. _

She blinked at the question, as if it hadn’t crossed her mind.  “I’m not sure, really… but I certainly didn’t imagine this.”  That last part was barely a whisper, but Vanitas’s ears were keen too.  He couldn’t help a chuckle.

“Surprised to find yourself chatting with a-”  _ heart of pure darkness?  _ “-a grumpy man who thinks everything’s stupid?” He forced himself to finish instead.

She laughed at that.  While his nose had adjusted to her scent, that laugh still made him involuntarily shiver.  Half of him wanted to punch her for the light-filled sound; the other half wanted to bottle it up and save it forever.

_ You light-blinded idiot.  Soon you’re going to kill her, and no one’s ever going to hear that sound again.   _ He felt a spark of satisfaction that that meant Terra and Ventus would never again hear it. Vanitas would be the last one.  

“You don’t think everything’s stupid,” Aqua replied, jarring his thoughts.  

“How would you know?”  He scowled, which for some reason made her laugh again.  He wasn’t sure whether to feel pleased or insulted.  Insulted was always a safe bet.

“Well, you’ve spent most of the evening with me.”  Her face was pointed towards the sky, but he caught her looking at him out of the corner of her eyes.  “So I would be surprised if you were to decide that I’m stupid.”

_ Oh, Aqua.  You have no idea just how stupid you’re being right now.   _ Then he thought,  _ But you’re not the biggest idiot in the metaphorical room. _

That title belonged to him.  He was running out of time, and still he stood there, lounging against the railing, as close to the girl as he dared.

_ Void.  Is this puberty?   _ The sudden thought broke through.  Xehanort had never mentioned the term, but it precipitated out of his memory of a joking comment his dad had made once.   _ No.  It’s just the light, like Ventus’s.  Must still be affecting me, even if I can’t smell it anymore.  Or she’s so good at magic, she’s using it on me without even realizing it. _

Or while realizing it?

He glanced up at her face, wondering if he’d find any traces of craftiness there.  He didn’t.  Just a confused smile.  Oh; he’d never addressed her comment.

“You are stupid,” he said.  “You could’ve been in the ball, dancing with…” Anyone else, really.  Anyone who wasn’t out to kill her.  But he hadn’t exactly given her that choice, had he?

“Well, you didn’t exactly give me a choice,” she echoed his thoughts, albeit in a much more lighthearted voice.  “But if you had, I still don’t think it would’ve been stupid for me to choose to spend time with you. I’ve enjoyed tonight.”

They were such simple words.  To Vanitas, they were both an embrace and a dagger.

_ Well, at least she’ll die happy.   _

It was time.  The cloaking spell was fraying; it was only a matter of time before she caught wind of his darkness, especially at such close range.  His fist clenched.

_ Sleep.  Then Thundaga.  It’ll be painless. _

_ Painless?  Since when do I want it to be painless?  I’d wanted to see her suffer.  I could reveal who I am now, show her what an idiot she’s been.  She can die knowing she embraced the embodiment of darkness. _

Somehow, the mere idea of revealing his identity sent a spike of fear through him.  She couldn’t know.  Even for a second, he didn’t want her to realize that this mask of friendship belonged to him.

_ She  _ already  _ knows, idiot.  You told her your name. It doesn’t mean anything to her. _

Suddenly she gasped, and her hand clasped around his, cutting him off before he could whisper the spell.  “Vanitas, look!  A shooting star!”

She pointed to the sky, and he looked up just in time to catch it.  A streak of light, blazing across the sky like Firaga shot out of a keyblade.  It burned itself out as quickly as it had appeared.

“Did you make a wish?”  She asked.

“A wish?”  He echoed, mind only halfway there.  The other half was on his plan, and yet another half on his hand in hers.  In the moment that faulty math didn’t register.

“Yes; have you ever wished on a shooting star before?”  When his blank face answered the question, she continued, “It might just be where I’m from, but when you see a shooting star, you’re supposed to make a wish.  It can be anything you want.”

“Anything?”  He asked.  She grinned and nodded.

“Anything.  But don’t say it out loud, or it won’t come true.”

He wasn’t worried about that.  He was already sure his wish wouldn’t come true.

Because in that moment, when she had said  _ anything,  _ the first thing that had entered his mind was…

_ I wish I could keep you alive. _

It was then that he knew for certain that he’d waited too long.  He was weak.  Pathetic.  He had been looking forward to this moment for the past three days since Master Xehanort had revealed the plan, and he wanted to turn back now?

_ No.  It’s me or her.  The old geezer made that clear enough.   _ Was it that simple though?  Aqua may not be expressly necessary to their plans, but Vanitas was.  The old Master couldn’t get rid of him that easily.

_ But  _ she  _ would,  _ he knew.  If he spared her now, she would find a way to be there when he merged with Ventus.  And at that point, she would not show mercy.

“You’re thinking pretty hard,” she said with a squeeze of his palm.  “Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be a perfect wish or anything.  It really is anything you want.”

_ Hah.  As if I know what I want.   _ Before now, it all had seemed to clear.  What was she doing to him?  He needed to get away, evaluate his emotions without her there pulling the strings.  But there was no time for that; an opportunity like this wouldn’t come again.

At that moment, two things happened.  The clocktower released a deafening  _ GONG,  _ and his light-cloaking spell unravelled.  It took less than a second for the darkness-induced feeling of nausea to hit her.

“Vanitas, what…?”   _ GONG.   _ “Is everything-?”

“Everything’s fine,” he calmly replied over another  _ GONG.   _ “I made my wish.”

_ GONG. _

His hand rested on her face, the last touch he would allow himself.  She didn’t even flinch.

_ “Sleep.” _

_ GONG.   _ Her eyes rolled back; she slumped against him, hair tickling his cheek.  She was heavier than he’d expected, and he staggered back, almost dropping her against the white planks of the bridge.  Thankfully he didn’t; that might have been enough of a shock to wake her up.

_ GONG.   _ He leaned her up against the railing and held out his palm as he waited for his Thundaga command to load.  Her chest rose and fell evenly, unaware of the danger.

_ WRONG.   _ He jumped.  No, that had just been another obnoxious gong; what had possessed him to replace it with a word?

_ WRONG,  _ he heard again.  His teeth grated against the noise.  “Will you shut up?” He shouted.

_ WRONG.   _ The clock mocked him, fraying his already stretched patience.  “I’m not wrong!  I have to do this!”  He needed to be whole again; that was the only thing that mattered.  Aqua was nothing more than an obstacle to be removed.

_ WRONG.   _ He summoned his keyblade, though he knew attacking the clocktower from this distance was impossible.  Maybe he’d just stab Aqua instead of using the spell.  Even as he thought that, his arm wavered.

_ I’ve never killed anyone before.  I thought it would be easier than this. _

_ WRONG.   _ He lowered his keyblade, dragging the tip against the ground.   _ He  _ was the loser who needed breaking in, not Ventus.  How was he supposed to win the Keyblade War if he couldn’t even kill a stupid girl?

_ WRONG.   _ Wait.  Maybe he didn’t need to.  A thought flashed to mind, brought up by the memory of Ventus needing to be broken in.  He was still weak, far weaker than Vanitas.  Meanwhile, Aqua was a Master.

A plan began to form in his mind.  A plan where he got to play with fire a little longer.

He flicked his wrist to open a dark corridor, then gathered the unconscious girl over his shoulder.

_ After all, it never hurts to have a backup. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the parts with Aqua and Vanitas looking at the stars (particularly the bit about constellations) were inspired by Ejes’s fanfic “Secret Place” (on FFN), which is a great one to check out if you enjoy Vanitas/Aqua!
> 
> I’ve already started on the next chapter, so the next gap shouldn’t be too long.
> 
> I realized I currently have two different cliffhangers going on two different fanfics with an unconscious Aqua at the same time xD I put her through the worst stuff... ^^;;;


	4. Linking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, happy 2018, year of Kingdom Hearts! :D Second of all, I’m going to apologize for not letting you find out what happened to Aqua in this chapter. Sorry. Story flow calls for a Terrella chapter here, but the next one will definitely focus on Vanitas and Aqua!
> 
> Also, here we get to have Cinderella’s POV! :D It was a little tough to write, that’s part of what made this chapter take so long. The other part was that I both played through Terra’s story on BbS and watched the animated Cinderella movie in the interim to try and get their characters right (or at least know what parts I’m purposely messing up *sweatdrop*). Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Cinderella felt a strange, uncomfortable shudder run through her right before the sudden noise pierced the silence.

_GONG._

Midnight.  Midnight already?  She gasped, shrugging off Terra’s arm and standing up to stare at the clocktower.  The realization pushed aside the strange physical fear that had overcome her the moment before.

_GONG._

She spun to Terra, who was gaping at her in shock.  “I’m sorry.  I have to go,” she breathed, then gathered her skirts, which were already beginning to fade into magical glitter.

_GONG._

“Wait, what?  Cinderella!”  He jumped up from their fountainside seat, but she was already making a break for the carriage.  It was linked to her fairy godmother’s spell too; if she didn’t get there soon, she would have no way of making it home, and then her family would catch her for certain.

_GONG._

Terra’s hand grabbed her wrist as the fourth bell sounded.  She instinctively pulled away, but his grip was too strong.  Panic flashed through her.

“Please, Terra, really, I _must_ go,” she pleaded.  By that point he finally noticed that her dress was dissolving.  Before long she would be clad in glorified rags again.

He nodded and loosened his grip with an apologetic wince.  “Sorry.  How long before…?”

_GONG._

“Before the spell is completely gone?” She finished for him.  “The last stroke of midnight.  I must be home by then.”

“You’ll never make it,” he said quickly.  “It took us more than twelve seconds to get here.”

_GONG,_ the clocktower agreed.  Her sleeves and gloves dissolved into sparkles; the autumn night air suddenly felt freezing to her bare arms.

_Oh, I never should have stayed out this late.  Even if it was wonderful…_

“I’ll have to try,” she said, still rushing for the carriage.  She could see it at the gate of the courtyard; it had already shrunk to half its size, as had the “horses.”  The white stallions squeaked in fear as they morphed back into her mice friends.

_GONG._

“Wait.” Terra stopped her again.  Maybe if he hadn’t stopped her the first time, she could have made it to the carriage and at least had a head start on her stepmother and stepsisters.  Now even she had to admit the carriage was undrivable.  “I have an idea.”

She turned back to him, hugging herself to keep out the cold as well as to hide the shreds of her homemade pink dress.  Terra had seen her like this before, and he had helped her anyway.  She had no reason to be ashamed, but still… He was so handsome and important, and while she’d been able to pretend to be a princess for one night, it hurt to remember that underneath the magic, this was who she truly was.  

_GONG._

Terra summoned his strange key-shaped sword in a flash of translucent shapes and blue lightning.  As she had the first time she had seen the magical weapon, she wondered if he was connected to her mysterious fairy godmother somehow.  He claimed to be an ordinary knight, and didn’t question him aloud, but what ordinary knight could use spells, or would show up at the exact moment she most needed protection?

He tossed the weapon far into the air, and at the next _GONG,_ it came flying back… quite literally, to Cinderella’s surprise.  The blade had somehow morphed into… she didn’t even have a name for it.

She gasped.  “Terra, what is that?”

“Glider,” he replied quickly, leaping onto the large turquoise-and-bronze device as it swooped back around.  “Hop on.”

_Hop on?_ She took a step back.  Trusting him to protect her from the monsters was one thing, but riding some sort of strange flying machine?

_GONG,_ the clock urged her on.  She shuddered again, feeling something… dark, was the only way she could describe it.  Coming from further in the castle’s gardens. Was that shouting she heard too?  She couldn’t believe it would have anything to do with her, but she didn’t want to find out.

Terra was holding out his hand, his smile weak with worry.  For what reason would he be worried?  He wasn’t the one who would be punished and humiliated if her family found them.

_GONG._

She swallowed and made her decision.

As soon as her hand clasped his, he pulled her up behind him as if she weighed nothing. “Hold on tight,” he said as she adjusted her dress around the odd seat, trying to keep some degree of decency.

“Wait, the mice,” she said before he could fly them away.  “I need them.”

“What?”  He craned his neck around to give her a funny look, and she blushed.

“They’re my friends,” she explained, knowing he would find it silly, which was why she hadn’t mentioned it earlier.

To her relief, he didn’t argue or ask questions, or even waste time with another odd look.  He just propelled the ‘Glider’ forward, bent down to scoop up the four mice, and then took to the sky.

“Cinderelly!  Cinderelly!”  Jaq cried, scrambling up Terra’s arm and onto her shoulder.  “What is it? Whatsa goin’ on?”

“Yeah, uh, what’s goin’ on?”  Gus echoed.

She didn’t have time to answer, only to hold on to Terra’s waist as the night sky rushed up to embrace them.

_GONG._ The last stroke of midnight.  The final sparkles fell from her, taking the remnants of her beautiful ensemble with them.   _Well, not all of them,_ she realized, wiggling her toes and smiling.  The glass slippers still remained for some reason.

The thought was swept from her mind in a gust of wind, and she clung to Terra’s waist as tightly as she could, propriety forgotten for the moment.  She should have been terrified at their impossible height, held aloft only by an impossible device.  Maybe part of her was terrified, but it was quickly overshadowed by a mixture of giddiness and awe.

Her head was pressed against Terra’s back, but she could still crane her neck enough to see the countryside sprawling below.  The castle protruded from the evergreen forests like a giant crystal.  She picked out her own home, Tremaine Manor, among the trees too.  Her home, her prison.  From their height, it could have been proportioned for one of her mouse friends.

“Oh…”  She didn’t know what else to say.  As she gaped openly, Jaq and Gus struggled to climb down her arms and take shelter in Terra’s pockets, where the two other mice had already hidden.  If Terra noticed, he didn’t seem to mind.

He slowed the glider, so they hung at the eye level of a couple of high-flying sparrows.  They tweeted at her in surprise, and their words translated in her mind: _“Cinderella?  Is that you?  What in worms’ name are you doing up here?”_

“Well, it’s quite a long story…” she chuckled.

“Twee twee tweet?” One sparrow asked. “ _Who’s the man?”_

“He’s, um… a friend,” she answered, hoping Terra couldn’t see her blush from this angle.

“Tweeeet tweet twee-tweet!  Tweet twee!”   _“Ohh, we get it.  You better tell us about him when you get back on the ground where you belong!”_

Her face heated.  “Oh, yes.  Um, if you could just give us a moment…”

They laughed a chirpy little laugh, fluttered about her head, and then glided off.  By that point, Terra was twisting around to raise his eyebrow at her.

“I don’t suppose it’s normal to be able to understand birds and mice, is it?”  She asked, half hoping he would say it was.  It certainly seemed more normal than creating some kind of flying machine out of thin air.

“...I wouldn’t know,” he finally answered.  “I don’t guess flying’s normal for you though, huh.”

She laughed a little at his echo of her thoughts.  “Not particularly normal, no.  But it _is_ wonderful.”

He smiled, and it lit up his dark blue eyes.  “I hoped it would be.  I guess it could’ve looked like I was kidnapping you, flying off without warning like that.”  He chuckled sheepishly and took a hand off the handlebars to ruffle his hair.

“Well, it isn’t like you threw me over your shoulder and dragged me into the sky kicking and screaming,” she replied.  “Quite the opposite, in fact.”

“Heh.  I guess we’re all good then.  We should probably get you home, before your family beats us to it.”

“Yes,” she agreed, though regret tinged her voice.  Her eyes again found the prison she called home.  It seemed so small, so insignificant from up here.  

_If only it were so small.  I would have no trouble finishing my chores at all._

“Terra?” she asked as he began to urge the glider forward.

“Yeah?”  He kept their speed slow, so she could hear him over the wind.

“With magic like this, you must be able to go anywhere.  Around the whole world, perhaps.  What brought you here tonight?” _What brought you to me?_

“Huh,” he grunted, as if he hadn’t thought about it.  “I guess the universe thought it owed me a break.”

She wasn’t quite sure what to make of that.  A shiver shook her - while her front was warm, close to Terra as she was, her back felt the full chill of the night wind.  It wove through her already-matted hair, but she still found it too exhilarating to mind.

She forgot her questions for the moment and just took it in.  She was _flying._ If that wasn’t a dream come true, she didn’t know what would be.

She turned her gaze upward, to the stars they had been watching together before the clocktower had so rudely interrupted.  A gasp escaped her lips; the lights seemed so much closer than they had from the ground.

“It’s almost as if I could reach out and touch them,” she breathed.

“You could,” she thought she heard Terra whisper, but maybe it was just the wind.

For all his haste to get them into the air, he took his time on the way down.  Watching to make sure they weren’t being watched, he said.  She didn’t mind.  However quickly her stepmother and stepsisters’ carriage was, it couldn’t possibly beat flying.

Finally the glider hovered just a few feet from the ground in that same clearing by the fountain where he had first found her crying.  In spite of that first impression, he had stayed - she had had the courage to ask him to stay.  And she hadn’t let those monsters scare her from her chance to go to the ball.  Perhaps she _was_ more brave than she’d thought.

He dismounted the glider first, then extended a hand up to her.  Glad her blush shouldn’t be too visible in the pale starlight, she accepted his help down.  She hadn’t meant to guilt him into the gesture earlier; she had made the apparently unwarranted assumption that all knights wanted the opportunity to be chivalrous, but he had seemed confused by her pause.  It had been adorable, really.  Regardless, he now seemed to be putting in extra effort to right his supposed mistake.

“Thank you,” she said as her glass-slippered feet touched the ground. The truly magical thing was that that those beautiful but impractical shoes hadn’t given her blisters. The mice scrambled out of Terra’s pockets, making him chuckle, and after a look from her they took off towards the manor.  

“No problem.”  He shrugged with a smile that quickly faded.  “So, uh… I guess this is goodbye.”

The heavy finality of his words hit her like another _gong_ of the clocktower.  “Yes… I suppose it is.”  She swallowed.  “Thank you for the lovely night, Terra.”

He bowed from the waist, the way he had when leading her into the ballroom.  “The pleasure was all mine.”

That should have been all.  She should have turned, walked back through the muddy garden in her glass shoes, and let this night fade into the dream that it already was.  Instead she found herself unable to move, unable to turn away from this handsome stranger’s starlit eyes.

“Terra… will I ever see you again?” She asked earnestly.

He grimaced, and her heart sank.  “I don’t know.  I’m still supposed to be investigating those monsters, and I need to find Master Xehanort.  I meant to ask around at the ball…”

Oh.  So that was why he had been going - and she had distracted him from his mission.  “I’m sorry.”

“No! Cinderella, it’s not your fault.  I just…” He shook his head, searching for words that didn’t reach his voice.  Then he took her hand and squeezed it softly.  “I hope my search takes me back here.  But in case it doesn’t…”

She felt the cool metal charm he had pressed into her palm.  Her fingers uncurled around it, and its orange surface glowed with a warm light.  She stared, mesmerized, until Terra carefully took it back.

“Now we’re connected,” he explained.  “If you ever need me, I’ll know.  And I’ll be here.”

She blinked up at him, not bothering to fight the tears prickling at the edge of her eyes.  “You can do that?”

“Yep.  One of my special knight powers.”  He smiled.  

_You_ would _do that?_ Would have been the more accurate question.  But apparently he already had.  Twin droplets of water streaked down her already-disheveled face, but she didn’t care.  She threw her arms around him, around this man she barely knew, but who for whatever reason seemed determined to protect her.

“You are wonderful, Terra.  Are you certain my fairy godmother didn’t send you?”  She asked.

“Uhh… I don’t think so.”  After a moment of hesitation, he hugged her back.  It was a wonderful feeling, being held by someone strong and warm and kind.  Really, it might have been wonderful to be held by anyone at all; it had been so long… since her father’s passing.  How had she managed?  In that moment, she felt the same small, scared child she had been then.

_No.  Not scared.  Strong,_ she told herself.  He believed in her strength.  Maybe that would be enough for her to believe, too.

Finally he let her go.  She thought he was going to say something, with that look on his face, but it took him a while to find the words.  “Before you go, can I ask you something?”

“Of course,” she replied without hesitation.  His voice became serious; his cobalt eyes grazed the ground.

“...Is there anything else I can do to help you?”  He asked.  It was the last thing she’d expected.  

“Oh.  Um…” _You can take me with you, wherever it is you’re going._ “No.  You have done more than enough, Terra.”

He met her eyes again and smiled, but she couldn’t help feeling that something was missing.

“Is there anything I can do for you?”  She asked in return.  It was silly, she realized; what could a girl like her offer a knight?  But it felt the right thing to say.

He shook his head, jostling his strange but handsome brown spikes of hair - but then he stopped. “Actually, there is one thing.  Just…

“Believe in me.”

They were the last words she would hear him say.  Then he slammed his fist against the piece of metal on his shoulder, and the magical armor engulfed him.  With barely another nod, he jumped onto his glider and rose into the sky.

“Goodbye, Terra,” Cinderella whispered as he streaked into the night, like another shooting star.  On a whim, she made another wish.  “Please, don’t forget me.  And may your journey bring you back someday soon.”

Her dreams had come true once.  She could only believe they would come true again.

Until then, she would keep believing in him.

XXX

_“Before you go, can I ask you something?”_

_“Of course.”_

_“If I weren’t a knight - if I’m not the hero - would you still have wanted me to stay?”_

Those weren’t the right words.  He couldn’t find the right words.  So he hadn’t asked.  The regret settled in his chest as he jetted away, pausing only a moment to look back and make sure she got inside safely.

_It was the right thing to do_ , he told himself. _I had to leave eventually.  She’ll be alright.  She’s strong._

She had more light in her than he could ever hope to have.  What could he offer her?  He wasn’t even a hundred percent confident that his D-Link with her would work in reverse; he would be able to contact her, but he didn’t know if she could really contact him.

_It was the most I could do.  And if I fail, she has a fairy godmother, apparently._ Though the fairy hadn’t appeared in time to save Cinderella from the Unversed…

_I can’t protect everyone.  Finding a way to stop the Unversed for good will go farther than saving one girl in one world._ Even if it was the one girl who made the darkness is in his heart feel so distant...

He opened a portal to the Lanes Between, resolving to talk to Yen Sid himself.  Surely the older Master would have more answers.   _Or at least, a warm bed to spend the night in._ He liked camping, but not with the Unversed lurking around and waking him up every couple of hours.  As he thought of it, his body suddenly felt the fatigue he had been repressing; it was a miracle he had stayed awake until midnight.

In spite of his exhaustion, hunger, and knowledge that he had a long way to go yet, he smiled.  He’d helped a dream come true tonight.

And maybe that dream didn’t only belong to her.

XXX

“Ven-Ven! Flurry! Wake up, wake up!”

“Hngh?”  Ven snorted awake and blinked the crustiness out of his eyes.  “Wagh!”  He scrambled back from the mouse looming over him.

“Come, come! Your friend is here!”

It came back to him like a smack in the face.  Getting shrunk, helping out the mice, and asking if they’d seen- “Terra!”

He leapt out of the makeshift bed - a fabric-scrap lined matchbox - and rushed to follow Jaq, who was already taking off through the maze of woodwork.  His limbs were still heavy with sleep, but his mind was wide awake now.  

“Flurry, Flurry! Cinderelly is saying goodbye!”

“Cinderella?  She met Terra?”  Ven asked while panting.  He was always faster than Terra and Aqua, but this little mouse was making him push it.  He blamed the fact that he just woke up.

“Yes, yes! Now flurry!” Jaq didn’t pause as he jumped down a tall step, leaving his red hat to flutter down after him.

Ven didn’t need to be told twice, or well, as many times as Jaq repeated himself.  He “flurried.”   _Terra…_

_“He’s leaving you behind.  And by the time you catch up… he’ll be a different person.”_

Ven shook the thought off like a dust cloud.  Whoever that boy was, he didn’t know the first thing about Terra.  Terra _never_ changed.  He was just as steady as the earth he was named for, and just as strong too.

“There, zugk-zugk!” Jaq called, pointing to the light at the end of the tunnel.

Ven came barreling out of the mousehole, only to crash into Jaq as the mouse skidded to a stop.

“Oh!”  The giant Cinderella was standing there in the hall, but she knelt down when she saw them.  “What’s this fuss about? It’s late; I thought you would want to get some rest.”

“Terra - Jaq said you met him.  Is he here?”  Ven jumped straight to the point. Jaq _had_ said to hurry.

“You know Terra? He can talk to…?  Well, I did think you looked too strange to be a normal mouse.” She chuckled.  “I was too busy to ask questions earlier, and after tonight I’m hardly surprised anymore…”

“Strange! I’m not-” Ven protested, fists clenched, but then slumped with a sigh. “Nevermind. Please, tell me where I can find Terra.”

She sighed, a gust of wind that nearly knocked him backwards.  “I’m sorry, Ven.  He just left after taking me home from the ball.  I don’t know where he left to… or if I’ll ever see him again.”

“Ball?”  He looked her over, which was pretty hard to do at his size.  There was just so much _her_ to look at.  “Did Unversed attack you there?”  She looked horrible.  Her pink dress was in shreds, and hair was swept in enough different directions that it almost looked like his.  

“Oh, this?” She tugged at a loose scrap of fabric with a sad laugh.  “No, this was… well, it’s a long story, and it’s quite late.  I’ll need to get some rest; I’m sure Stepmother will have plenty of work for me tomorrow…”

She held out her hand, and Jaq scampered up onto it.  Reluctantly Ven followed.  Being held up so high wasn’t a problem - he liked heights - but it was embarrassing enough being so small without being carried on top of it.  It _was_ nice not to have to scramble back up those tall flights of stairs, though.

“So you said Terra was with you at a ball?” Ven asked, trying to glue all the pieces together.  “And there _weren’t_ Unversed there?”

“There were plenty along the way, but he took care of them for me.  He was very brave.”  Her cheeks got pink at that, for some reason.

“Of course he was!  Terra’s the bravest person I know,” Ven replied.  

“It sounds like you know him pretty well.” She smiled.  “Do you know where he’s from?”

“Sure! We’re both from- uh-” _Whoops, I’m not supposed to talk about other worlds!_ “Uh… it’s… it’s a secret.” He finally finished with a nod.   _There.  Nailed it!_

Cinderella covered her mouth with her free hand and giggled.  “Of course it is. Well, it was worth a try.”

“If there weren’t Unversed there, then why was Terra at the ball?  Isn’t that a thing where there’s dancing and fancy people and stuff?”  That sounded like the last place he’d find Terra.

She quietly opened the door to her room and set him and Jaq on the dresser.  “Yes, there was dancing… and he was _so_ wonderful to dance with…” She spun gracefully in the center of the room.  “And talking with him under the stars… and flying on his strange Glider… it was truly a dream come true.”

Ven choked.  “He took you on his _Glider?”_ The Master would kill him for that!  Why would he… why would he…? _Oh._ He slapped his face.  “Terra likes her, doesn’t he?”  He whispered to Jaq, who grinned.

“We hope-a so, zugk-zugk.  Cinderelly not been this happy in…” He paused to think, his little hand rubbing his chin.  “Ever?”

Ven sat down.  Terra, liking a girl?  If he was going to make a move with someone, he would’ve thought for sure it would be Aqua.  But he’d never really talked to Terra about anything like that.

“But tomorrow everything will be back to normal,” Cinderella sighed and fell back onto her bed.  “The same old clock waking me up… same old Stepmother and Stepsisters demanding breakfast, and the sewing, and the laundry, and… then tonight will be nothing more than a dream.

“But it was such a beautiful dream…”  She slid off her shoes - were those made of _glass? Ouch -_ and set them on her lap.  “A dream I will never forget.”

“You say that like he’s never coming back,” Ven piped up, startling her.

“He may come back, eventually,” she said.  “But he is so busy with his quest, I don’t know when that will be.  I couldn’t ask him to stay, even if his magic works.”

“Magic?”

She nodded.  “Yes.  He placed this star-shaped charm in my hand and used some kind of spell, one he said would let him know if I need him. Only I wish he had explained how it would work...”

“The Wayfinder!”  Ven leapt to his feet.   _Whoa, Terra, how serious are you about this girl?_ Well, it seemed enough that Ven had a responsibility to help her.  For Terra.  “I know how it works!”

“You do?”  She asked in surprise.

“Yeah!  I’ll be right back!”  He dashed into a crack in the wall behind the dresser, and he didn’t have to wait long before Unversed appeared in the mice’s secret passage.  A few swipes of his keyblade later, he was back on top of the dresser, arms full of D-Link Crystals.  He had to be careful to keep them from absorbing into his skin.

“What are those?”  Cinderella asked, looming over him.  Man, he wished he was big again.  Well, as big as he ever was, anyway.

“They’re called D-Link Crystals!  They let us connect with people from- uh, people we care about.  Anyway, I’ll let you try it with me to make sure it works.”  He set down the crystals, dug the green Wayfinder out of his pocket, and held it up to her.  It looked so tiny in her giant hand; he hoped she wouldn’t crush it by accident.  So far it had survived him getting beat up by Unversed, though, so Aqua’s magic on it must’ve been pretty good.

“Alright, what should I do?”

“Um… well…”  The charm had formed a D-Link with Snow White by accident; he’d hoped it would just figure itself out.

As it turned out, it did.  At least, the Wayfinder glowed with a fuzzy green light, so he assumed it had worked.  When she carefully passed it back to him, he felt it hum with a new energy.  Another friend.

“Okay!  So now you need these.”  Jaq helped him gather up the D-Link Crystals again.  “You just gotta let them, uh, melt on your hand.  You don’t have to think about it too much.”

“Alright then, let’s try it.”  She held out her hand again, and when he dropped the armful of crystals into it, they dissolved into happy-looking sparkles.  “Oh!”

“You feel something?”  Ven grinned.  He hadn’t known if it would work, with her not having a Wayfinder and all, but it was looking good so far.

“Yes, it feels… tingly.”  She scrunched her nose.

“Good, I think that’s what it’s supposed to do.”  He nodded.  “Okay.  Now here’s the last part.  You gotta think of me _really_ hard.  Like, picture me in your head.”

“Is that all?”  She asked a little skeptically.

“Yep!  Just that!”

She closed her eyes tightly; she sure _looked_ like she was thinking really hard. As the seconds passed though, Ven began to get impatient.  Was it going to work or not?

“I’m not sure-” Cinderella began, only to be surrounded with a faint green halo, like she’d had Cure cast on her.  “Oh!”

“Cinderelly light up!” Jaq laughed.  “Now she bright on-a outside, too!”

“Yes!” Ven cheered, throwing his fists in the air.  “Looks like you did it!” A second later he could feel it too, the fuzzy warmth of someone touching his heart.

“And that… that will let me reach Terra?”  She asked with a hopeful smile.

“Sure will!”  He grinned as her glow faded; the mini D-Link Crystals hadn’t been enough to last long.  “I’ll just get you some more of those crystals before I go!”

“Go?  You’re leaving too?”

“Well…” He thought about it.  He was going to look for Terra, but Cinderella could call him now.  Ven couldn’t do it with his own D-Link; if he used it, Terra would just think he was training.  This might be his best shot of finding his friend and getting some answers about what that masked boy said.  “I guess I could stay a _little_ longer.”

“Oh, thank you, Ven.” Cinderella picked him up in one hand and hugged him to her cheek.  It was weird to get hugged by a giant, but at least she didn’t squeeze too hard.  “This means so much to me.”

“Hey, no problem!  A friend of Terra’s is a friend of mine!”

Ven grinned.  He was going to have fun teasing his friend about this when they met again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, Unplanner, Terra’s comment in the first chapter about inhaling D-Link Crystals was user error. Even Ven figured it out. XD
> 
> Bet you weren’t expecting to see Ven! :D I don’t know that he will show up often, but he’s definitely around and may be important later. 
> 
> I’m realizing this fic is going to be way longer and more involved than I was expecting (big surprise there ^^;). There may be some big clues about that and in what ways the plot will continue to diverge from canon in the next Terra chapter.


	5. Kidnapping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at chapter titles* One of these things is not like the others…

Sleep trickled away like sand from an hourglass, taking the last dregs of Aqua’s dream with it.  That was too bad.  It had been such a nice dream, she was sure, though now that she tried to chase it she couldn’t quite remember what it had been about.  There was a vague impression of twinkling stars…

Her bed shifted beneath her, jolting her the last few steps into consciousness.  Light, she hadn’t fallen asleep with Terra or Ven, had she?  It had been at least a year since any of them had had a nightmare bad enough to send them running to the other’s rooms, and though the three of them were close as siblings, they were probably too old for that now.

But she hadn’t fallen asleep with her friends.  She looked around and found herself alone and in the dark.  The only light fell in three misshapen patches on the ground, as if through small windows.  Where in the worlds…?

The ground again shifted beneath her, and suddenly the jagged middle window widened, exposing her to the outside.  She squinted against the brighter light, even though it was still relatively dim - her little room seemed to be inside a larger room, if the dusty floor strewn with wooden crates was any clue.

“Nngh…” She groaned as a wave of nausea hit her.  She had felt that only once before, when a few Heartless had breached the protective wards around the Land of Departure.  

_“Master… what is this?  I feel so sick…”_

_“Do not worry, it will pass.  I suspect you have an ability common to many of the old keyblade wielders.  Remember this feeling well - it is the sensation of darkness.”_

Yes, she did remember it well.  The feeling was definitely the same, maybe not quite so intense.  The Master had said that it would fade to more manageable levels in time.   But where was it coming from…?

“Huh, the princess finally wakes.” A bored voice drawled from somewhere outside her line of sight.  She shook off the dark feeling and tried to stand to get a better view, but the ground heaved, sending her falling to her knees.  “I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”

“What’s going on?”  Regardless of the darkness, there was a more pressing question: how did she get here?  The last thing she remembered, she had been wishing on a star...

“Oh, nothing much.”  The sound of boots hitting the ground, then a low chuckle.  “I just thought I’d give a more realistic ending to your little fairy tale.”

She shuffled to the window, gripped the bar-like spikes protruding from its top, and peaked her head out. It wasn’t entirely necessary, as the owner of the dark voice picked that moment to strut into her view.

He was clothed in something that couldn’t be native to this world, or at least this part of it - he wore a suit that seemed to be woven from the darkness itself, with a bleeding heart traced out in red veins over the chest.  His face was hidden by a glassy helmet, rimmed at the bottom with jagged metal.  But that wasn’t the strangest thing.  In spite of his obvious effort to appear intimidating, he wore a navy-and-red _skirt_ of all things.

She decided to ignore that for now, as there were still more urgent questions to ask.  Like, “Who are you?”

He paused, as if he’d expected her to scream, or gasp in fear, or ask anything else but that.  Then he laughed, a sharp, sudden sound that shocked her back.  “Who am I?  I thought that would be obvious.” He strode towards her with the sharp focus of a predator.  Maybe she should have been more intimidated.  She likely would have been, had his approach not highlighted how short he was.  That thought fled her mind when he grasped the bar right beside her head and brought his shielded face far too close to hers.

“I’m a monster.”  His voice betrayed the smirk his mask hid.  Then, with another eerie chuckle, he leapt back and crouched atop one of the wooden crates.  “But you can call me Void.”

_Void._ She shuddered.  “Alright, _Void._ What do you want with me?”  It was easy enough to piece together that she was being held “captive” - this smaller room must be some kind of cage, if a strangely squishy one - which meant that this Void person must not know about her keyblade.  As soon as he was distracted, she would be able to burst out of here easily.  But before that, it would be useful to find out what he did know.

“I want a lot of things,” he replied cryptically.  “Your light, mostly.”

She blinked, having not expected a straight answer. Or, well, a somewhat straight answer.  “What do you mean, my light?”

“Tch.” He jumped down again, his skirt flaring out around his waist with the motion.  “How about I just show you?”

He was there in a blink, reaching through her window.  She scrambled back; though her movements were hindered by the strangely squishy ground, she still avoided his grip.  

“Stay back!”  She shouted.  “You don’t know what you’re dealing with!”

He chuckled; she was beginning to hate that sound.  “I know more than you think, _Aqua.”_ He sneered her name.

Pressed against the concave back of her cell, she froze.  “You… how do you…?”

“That’s enough questions.”  He turned his back to her.  The fact that he knew her name was concerning, but that didn’t necessarily mean he knew about her powers.  Now would be as good a time as any to-- “And don’t even think about summoning your keyblade.”

Her hand, outstretched and waiting to be filled, closed around empty air.  He _did_ know.  But then how did he expect to keep her here?  She was debating whether or not to heed his warning when he spoke up again.

“Haven’t you wondered where you are yet?”  He leaned against the crate, crossing his arms.  For now she decided to indulge his conversation.

“Didn’t you say not to ask any more questions?”  She raised her eyebrows, looking as defiant as she could while trapped in a glorified, squishy cage.

“Fair enough.”  He shrugged.  “I’ll give you this one free of charge, since I’m in a good mood.  Though I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out already.  I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”

She didn’t want to rise to the taunt, but she found herself looking around anyway, searching for more clues, but always keeping him in her periphery.  The pale orange walls of her prison weren’t perfectly spherical as she had first assumed; they were ribbed, like the each section had been caved out.  It was difficult to see the floor other than in the spaces illuminated through the windows, but it didn’t look as squishy as it felt.  It looked smooth, almost glossy, a texture she mostly associated with…

The cage jolted, bouncing of its own accord.  It didn’t make any sense, but she had only one guess of what it was.

She tried to keep her balance without touching the walls.  She didn’t want to touch the floor either, but she didn’t have much of a choice in that matter.  “Am I… inside an _Unversed?”_

It sounded ridiculous, but Void’s laugh confirmed it.  “Congratulations, maybe you’re _not_ an idiot!”

“But… how…”  The prison had felt spacious enough moments ago, but now… _Stay calm!_ Her lungs didn’t want to listen; they were heaving, gasping, as if all the air was due to disappear any second.

“They’re made of what I feel,” Void said smugly.  “When you destroy them, they just return to me.  So don’t bother trying to kill it.  I’ll know, and I’ll be here faster than you can cry for help.”

_Oh light.  Oh light…_ She had to tell Terra, somehow.  This Void was the person he was looking for, the source of the Unversed.

“Then I’ll fight you, too,” she said, glaring him down for all she was worth.  “You really think you can kidnap a Keyblade Master and get away with it?”

He uncrossed his arms and held out a hand, palm outstretched.  In his grasp appeared a charcoal-colored keyblade, with serrated teeth rimmed in red.  Set just above the hilt and near the teeth were two piercing aquamarine eyes.

“Yeah.”  He plunged the dark keyblade into the side of the crate, where it stayed, staring at Aqua with its one visible eye.  “I think I can.”

Aqua’s fingers flexed, itching to summon her own blade.  But she couldn’t, not yet.  She had no way of knowing how strong this Void was.  Clearly he had been strong enough to overpower her, to trap her here… how had this even happened?  The last thing she remembered was watching the stars with -

“Vanitas!”  She gasped, suddenly remembering.  To her surprise, Void jumped as if he’d been struck.  “Where is he?  What did you do with him?”

Void shook his head with a laugh that quickly rose to a cackle.  “Why do you care?  You’ve got enough to worry about already.”

“Please, just tell me.”  She didn’t expect to ask so sincerely, not from this monster, but she had to know.  Vanitas had been grumpy and a little rude, but he had also been sweet in his own way, and eager to spend time with her, however dubious his reasons had been.  She hadn’t completely understood him, but she had thought she could help him.  Now, because of her, he might be in trouble.  Or worse.

“I thought I told you to stop asking questions,” Void muttered.  “This is the last one you’re gonna get, so you better ask yourself: is it really worth it?”

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation.  “He was just a boy.  He didn’t deserve to get hurt!”   _Especially not because of me…!_

“Tch.  I don’t think you know what he deserves.”  Void pulled his keyblade free, sending wooden splinters flying, then set to pacing back and forth between her Unversed cage and the dusty crates.

“And you do?”  Aqua challenged.  “Just tell me!”

“You make it sound like he actually mattered.  Well, you should know he put up a good fight, at least.”

Aqua choked.  “You mean… you mean he…”  Could Void really have killed him?  She took one look at his dark blade, the taut muscles highlighted by his suit, the mask that covered the face of a monster.  Yes.  She didn’t need her sense for darkness to know that Void was capable of killing.

As for Vanitas… she hadn’t known him for long.  A few hours at most.  But that was long enough for her to decide that he could have been her friend.  He could have been anything, if only he had chosen to dance with anyone but her…  If only she hadn’t been foolish enough to let her girlish fantasies get the best of her…

“Are you _crying?”_ Void asked incredulously.  “You’re kidding.”

She wiped away the water trickling from her eyes.  “You - you _freak!”_ She spat, rising to her feet.  Her head nearly grazed the roof of her cage, but she didn’t care.  “He was a person!  He had people who cared about him, and you just - you just _murdered him_!”

Void took a step back, as if he actually had enough of a conscience to be offended.  “I never said that.  I just said he put up a good fight.  He tried to protect you, after I put you to sleep.  Didn’t expect that, but I just decided to take him along too.  Figured it might give you a little incentive to cooperate.”

Aqua’s mind slowly processed the words.  Her heart felt like it had been jerked back and forth too many times; she wasn’t sure she could believe him.  “Then he’s alive?”

“ _Yes,_ he’s alive.  Weren’t you listening?”  He dismissed his keyblade, returning to sitting on one of the crates.  “He’ll only stay that way as long as you play nice, though.”

_Oh._ So that was Void’s plan.  She might be able to take him on herself, but knowing what he could do to Vanitas… She couldn’t try to escape.  Not yet.  She’d need to at least find out where Void was keeping him first.

“...Alright.”  She sighed, slumping to the ground.  The cage bounced like it wanted to remind her that it was alive.  As if she could forget.  “What are you going to do with me, then?”

Void _tsk-tsked._ “Sorry, Aqua.  You’re out of questions.”

A pool of darkness rose from the ground behind him, and he stepped back into it.  When the darkness faded, he was gone, leaving Aqua with a head full of questions and no answers.

“Vanitas…” She whispered, as the fear squeezed more warm drops from her eyes.  “I’ll find a way to get you out of here.  Somehow…”

XXX

Vanitas emerged from his dark corridor just outside the storage room’s door.  Not far enough to make the corridor worth it, except for the dramatic effect; it would have been easier, and safer, to just use the door.  Abandoned as this part of the castle may seem, he never knew when a stray servant might decide to stick his nose where it didn’t belong.

He pressed his ear to the old wooden door.  No noise.  Either Aqua had listened and decided to behave herself, or the storage room was big enough that no cries for help she made would be heard.  He felt for his Cursed Coach Unversed - the one that served as her cage - and found it no more agitated than usual.  So she wasn’t hasty enough to try and escape just yet.

Vanitas let out a shaky laugh, then threw off his helmet and ran a hand through his hair.  That had been close.  He’d thought for sure that she’d recognized him, that he hadn’t changed his voice enough, or maybe his height had given him away.  But no, she was just _worried_ about him, of all things.  The him she thought she knew, anyway.

_“He was a person!  He had people who cared about him!”_

He shook his head roughly.  She’d never know how big a lie that really was.

_“You - you_ freak!”  He couldn’t help remembering too.  He hadn’t flinched at those words.  After all, they were true.  

He scratched at the veins over his chest.  So why did something about it still hurt?

“She’s getting in my head again,” he muttered, smacking his forehead against the dome of his helmet.  This plan had seemed so simple in the dark of night, when she was unconscious and he was running on impulse.  Capture her.  Keep her hidden in an abandoned turret of the Castle of Dreams, in an Unversed of his creation.  Have access to her light whenever he needed it, especially in case anything happened to Ventus.  None of her friends knew that she had left the Land of Departure; they wouldn’t come looking.  Not until it was too late.

Claiming to have kidnapped “Vanitas” too hadn’t been part of the plan.  She had given him that one all on her own.  He’d planned to tell her he’d killed him.  The guilt and pain in her expression would have been good entertainment.

Only… they weren’t.  What was wrong with him?  Was he broken?  Aqua had to suffer.  If she thought he was weak, if she thought she could reason with him or risk breaking out, she would try to escape.  In a fair fight, Vanitas wasn’t as confident as he’d like to be that he could win.  At least, not without damage that Xehanort would question.  And if Xehanort found out…

He _wouldn’t_ find out.  Not unless Vanitas chose to merge with Aqua in the end, and by then it would be too late.  He would have the X-Blade, and there would be nothing Xehanort could do to hurt him then.

Vanitas stood, shoved his helmet back over his mess of hair, and wandered down the winding stairs.  The storage room was in a turret high above the rest of the castle; it would have been easier to corridor down, but he had a purpose in walking.  He needed to make sure this area was as abandoned as it seemed, plus he wanted to do some sneaking around the rest of the castle.  If he could leave his Unversed in other wings, the guards would be too busy to investigate his new lair.

He emerged from the stone stairway into a hall where bright morning light streamed in through the large windows.  Ugh.  He’d hardly slept the previous night, worried as he’d been that Aqua would wake before him.  The light pierced through his helmet; he had to shield the glare with his hand as he searched for any signs of life.  No servants or guards bustled here, though.  The castle seemed entirely too big for just the king and the prince; what was the point of it?  Did being royalty just mean wasting lots of empty space?  Vanitas would’ve been happy with any space protected from the elements.  Preferably a space with a mattress.  That wasn’t a bad idea, actually; maybe he could find a spare one to steal while he made his rounds.

More halls and stairs, like a gilded but useless labyrinth.  He’d need the dark corridors to even find his way back to the tower room.  At least he knew that if Aqua tried to escape, she wasn’t likely to make it far either.

Finally he peeked through a door and saw people.  Cooks, it looked like, if their shining silver platters were any clue.  Vanitas’s mouth watered at the smell of bacon and eggs steaming from them.  A couple of Scrappers itched under his skin, spurred on by his hunger and desire for the hot food.

With a sly grin, he let the Unversed out.  They burst from his sides and streaked towards the cooks, who let out a shrill scream.  

“Monsters! Guards, come quick!”  One had the sense to shout as he ran away, dropping the platter to the floor with a _clang_.  The Scrappers wanted to give chase, but Vanitas stepped out of his hiding place and grabbed them both by their heads.

“Now, now, you can play later.” He winced as he absorbed their negativity back through his palms - that was never pleasant - but a fresh grin quickly replaced it.

“Breakfast is served.”

XXX

Aqua ripped out the fourth page in her journal, crumpled it into a ball, and chucked it at the side of her cage.  The Unversed jumped at the soft impact, just like it had the last three times.  The wide half-barred window - which she could only assume was the creature’s mouth - gnashed ominously.

_Could this thing really eat me?_ She wondered, not for the first time in the past… however long since Void had abandoned her.   _If it’s made out of his emotions, it shouldn’t have any kind of digestive system, right?_ The biology of the Unversed hadn’t been her largest priority.  That mental effort was saved for her plan.

Unfortunately, as evidenced by the four paper wads scattered around the Unversed’s insides, that plan wasn’t coming together.  Each fragmented idea came bundled with a dozen problems.  She could try to squeeze through one of the Unversed’s windows, but even if Void could only feel his monsters’ pain, it was likely to attack her, and then she’d still be forced to fight her way out.  She could take her chances with fighting and hope that Void would come for her before hurting Vanitas, but that would be too big of a risk.  Gambling her own life was one thing; dragging in another’s was something else.

Lacking the necessary information to form a proper plan, she instead tried to collect as many clues as she could about her prison.  She was clearly inside a building, but soft light illuminated the motes of dust floating through the air.  Unless this world had electricity, the room had windows.  She couldn’t see any of them directly, though; maybe they were up too high to reach.  Surely someone would be able to hear her if she yelled, though?

_And then Void will just hurt Vanitas,_ she thought.  Was there no way out of this?

She stood, pacing the soft floor.  The Unversed seemed to swell to accommodate her desire for space.  The creature was surprisingly well-behaved for a monster - had Void commanded it not to attack her?  That could be a clue in itself.  He seemed to want her intact, for whatever reason.  Maybe she could use that to her advantage.

A distinctive _whoosh_ echoed in the room - the same noise that had accompanied Void’s exit before.  Aqua stopped her pacing to stare out one of the top windows.  To her surprise, it wasn’t Void entering through one of those dark portals, but… was that a bed frame?  The screeching of wood on stone made her wince as the bed emerged, followed by the two Bruisers pushing it, and then lastly by Void himself.  The sickening feeling of darkness hit her short seconds later.

“Not bad,” Void muttered to himself. Then he held out his hands, and the two Unversed faded into mist that streamed into him.  Aqua gasped at the sight - these monsters literally were born from him.  If Void noticed her noise, he didn’t acknowledge it; he was too busy pacing the circumference of the bed, as if looking for flaws.

“Are you… giving me a better place to sleep?”  Aqua dared to ask.  She didn’t have to stay _inside_ an Unversed, right?  He could just as easily have his monsters guard her room.  After all, as long as he had Vanitas, she couldn’t risk doing much.

Void’s head turned in her direction, and then he let out a piercing cackle.  “You really think I’d bring this for _you?_ No.  This is mine.”  He lounged on it with his feet kicked up on the baseboard and his hands behind his head to prove it.

“You’re - you’re going to sleep _here_?”  The shock laced her voice.  Was he planning on staying here all the time?  How was she going to find a way out of this if he did?

He sat up, and somehow she felt he was glaring in spite of the dark glass covering his eyes.  “What?  Do you have a problem with that?”

_Yes,_ she wanted to say, but that would only make him more likely to do it.  So instead she didn’t say anything.  That didn’t stop him, though.

“Have you come up with an escape plan yet?”  He asked, making her jump.  He chuckled.  “Of course you have.  Might as well spit it out.  It’s not going to work anyway.”

“Quit playing mind games!”  She shouted.  “Why did you bring me here, really?”

He slid from the bed, then prowled towards her.  She suddenly regretted her outburst, but all he did was snap his fingers, and a Scrapper came running through a portal.  In its three-clawed hands was a steaming plate of scrambled eggs and sausage.  Void snatched the plate, and Aqua thought for a second that he might reveal his face in order to eat.  Instead, he thrust the food through her cage window.

She stared at the dish.  Was it poisoned?  As much as she distrusted her mysterious captor, that wouldn’t make much sense after all the effort he’d made to keep her here alive.  Still, she hesitated to come close enough to him to accept the food.

“Come on, you’re hungry, aren’t you?”  He growled, waving the plate so that a speck of scrambled egg fell to the Unversed’s floor.  “If I had someone offering me fresh-cooked food, I wouldn’t be so picky.”

She still hung back, trying to analyze the situation.  Eventually he huffed and started to turn away.

“Fine, starve if you want.  I’ll just-“

She darted forward, snatching the plate before he could take it from her reach.  But he’d apparently been expecting that.  Just as she’d taken the food from his grasp, he gripped both of her wrists.

She screamed.  It was an involuntary reflex, one that earned her bruises as his grip tightened.  

If that had been the worst part, she would have been grateful.  But as soon as he’d touched her, she felt a terrible emptiness, as if pieces of her heart were being sucked away.  The room grew dim around her, its already sparse colors fading to grey.  For a few horrifying moments, she couldn’t breathe.

Then he released her.  She dropped the plate, then collapsed to her knees gagging and panting.  She wanted to sob, but forced herself to hold it in.  She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of breaking her so easily.

“To answer your question, _this_ is why I took you.”  He turned his back on her and took a deep breath.  “Keep your light strong, _Aqua_.  I wouldn’t want the darkness to take you like your friend Terra.”

She gasped.  She wanted to scream, to demand to know how he knew about her and Terra, but her mouth wouldn’t form the words.

_Did he… did he just steal my light…?_

She didn’t get to ask. He opened another portal of darkness and disappeared, leaving her kneeling in a pile of spilled breakfast food.

Since he was no longer there to see her shame, she picked up a sausage and bit into it.

XXX

“There you are,” Master Xehanort grumbled as Vanitas emerged in the Keyblade Graveyard.  “Insolent boy.  Why did you ignore my summons?”

“I was occupied,” Vanitas snapped.  Xehanort always expected him to drop everything on a whim, when the old man usually just wanted him to spread Unversed in a different world or run some menial errand.  “What do you want?”

“I expected a report on Aqua’s demise hours ago.  Or did she prove to be more than you could handle?”

Vanitas snorted.  “Good to know you have such confidence in me.  I took care of her.”

“Good.  My plan proceeds as I’ve foreseen.  Spread your abominations in Radiant Garden; I will be luring Terra there soon.”  Xehanort folded his arms behind his back and hunched away, not bothering to make sure Vanitas would obey.  After all, he always did; he wanted to reunite with Ventus, and Xehanort’s plan was the most reasonable way.  The old Master might treat him like dirt, but he knew what he was doing.

_Soon I’ll be whole again, and none of this will matter,_ Vanitas reminded himself.  Then Xehanort would love him again.

Or Vanitas would kill him.  Either way, he wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

Though Xehanort had opened a corridor, he suddenly stopped before walking through it.  “Vanitas.”

“What?”

“Your darkness.  Why is it hidden from my senses?”

He hesitated a beat too long before answering, “I needed a cloaking spell to sneak up on Aqua.  I borrowed some of that Princess’s light.”

“Hmm.  Your spell needs improvement.  I can still feel your darkness when I concentrate.”

“...Yes, Master,” he forced himself to reply.  Finally the geezer shuffled off through his dark corridor.

No time to bask in the success of his lie.  He released his held breath and faded through a dark corridor of his own.

XXX

It was dark by the time Void returned again.  Or, it would have been dark, if not for the hovering Fire spell that kept Aqua company.  It had set off the Unversed at first, but once it apparently realized that she didn’t mean to set it ablaze, the monster had calmed down.  So it was that Void found her sprawled on her stomach, writing in her journal by the flickering light.

_“_ I hate everything,” she thought she heard him mutter as he flopped down gracelessly on the bed.  She ignored him.  She may not have a plan of escape yet, but she did have _a_ plan.  He was obviously trying to manipulate her in some way.  Well, he couldn't do that if she didn’t rise to his taunts.

_Void is back again,_ she wrote.   _He seems angry about something.  Good.  He deserves it for what he’s done to me._ That sentence sounded a little too spiteful, but it was true.   _I still can’t believe this has happened.  I’m supposed to be a Keyblade Master, yet I’ve been defeated in my very first world.  I don’t even know if I’m still in the Castle of Dreams.  With his portals of darkness, Void could have taken me anywhere in the worlds._

She glanced up at him; he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.  Or maybe he was asleep.  Would he sleep with that awful helmet on?  That couldn’t be comfortable.

He didn’t seem to care about feeding her this time, which was fine by her.  She had packed enough food in the special pocket of her skirt-wrap to last a week.  After that… well, she didn’t plan to still be here after that.

_I have to find out what he did with Vanitas,_ she continued writing.   _If I can ensure his safety, I’m sure I can find a way out of here for myself._

Unfortunately, finding anything else out would probably require speaking with Void again.  She sighed.

“Why do you hate everything?”  She asked.  He sat up a little.

“What?”

“Why do you hate everything?”  She repeated.  “Did something happen?”

He snorted and laid back down.  “Don’t pretend like you care.”

He lapsed back into silence.  Well, fine then.  He was right; she didn’t care.

“...I went to a stupid world,” he eventually spoke, to her surprise.  “Some dumb guards attacked me when I tried to release Unversed by their castle.”  He pressed a hand to his side.  “Stupid Cure isn’t doing a good enough job…”

If he expected her to offer to help, he was going to be disappointed.  “Serves you right, terrorizing the worlds like that.”

“So now you think you know what _I_ deserve.  How typical.”  He snorted again.  “Get rid of that Fire.  I’m going to bed.”

Much as she itched to argue, she knew it would be useless.  She dismissed the spell, and the room was plunged into darkness.

“Goodnight, _Aqua.”_ Void’s words echoed, sending a shiver down her spine.  “Dream up some good nightmares for me.”

Unfortunately, she suspected that was exactly what would happen.

 


	6. Returning

_"Find Xehanort, Terra.  That is where you should begin.”_ Yen Sid’s advice echoed in his mind as he flew through the Lanes Between.  The way the retired Master had spoken, he expected that Xehanort had something to do with the appearance of the Unversed.  But how?  And why?  And what of the rumors he’d heard of Xehanort looking for hearts of pure light?  None of it made any sense.

_Hearts of pure light…_ His mind inevitably went back to Cinderella.  It had been two days now since he’d left.  How many days would it be before he could see her again?

_Maybe never.  Once I finish this mission, the Master will want me back at the Land of Departure again until I can pass the Mark of Mastery._ But after that… well, after that he would be able to go where he wished, wouldn’t he?  He could visit her then.  If she still wanted him to.

He shook his head; it was useless to think about now.  If he succeeded in the mission, then the Master might change his mind about the results of the Exam.  That was his top priority.

_“Terra.”_

Terra jolted at the voice, one that seemed to invade his mind.  Strangely, he thought he recognized it.  “Master Xehanort?”

_“Terra, come see me at once.”_

Yes, that was definitely him.  But how was he supposed to find-?

A strange feeling tugged on him, like someone had set a magnet in his chest.  It pulled him to nudge his glider to the left.

_Alright then, Master Xehanort._ He followed the feeling towards a distant star, one that appeared dimmer than most.   _I hope you have some good answers for me._

XXX

He landed in a barren world and found the old Master waiting for him.  He did have answers - though not ones Terra had expected.  Apparently the Unversed came from a masked boy named Vanitas, and that wasn’t all - Vanitas was the darkness in Ven’s heart, split from him because of a horrible training accident.  It had been the only way that Master Xehanort could save Ven.  It was a lot to take in, but it did make sense.  Terra still remembered the day that Xehanort had brought Ven to the Land of Departure; the boy hadn’t remembered anything, but no one had ever told Terra why.  There was still one more question that he needed to ask, though.

“Master… Why is Vanitas still free?”

“Ah yes.  Well, I did my best to contain him the moment he emerged, but…”

It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened. “He managed to escape.”

Xehanort nodded.  “Vanitas uses the keyblade to sow seeds of darkness.  And now, you see - the worlds teem with his ghastly underlings.”

“The Unversed,” Terra muttered.  It was hard to believe that so many monsters could come from one person - or one other monster - but it felt good to finally have someone to blame for unleashing them.

“He has no control over the darkness in his heart.  The keyblade is not his to bear.  He’s an abomination beyond hope of salvation.”  Xehanort held out his hand.  “Lend me your strength, Terra.  Right this wrong that I have wrought.”

“But I have no idea where to find him,” Terra answered, though in his heart he had already agreed.  If he were able to destroy Vanitas, destroy the Unversed, then Master Eraqus would surely have to change his mind.  Then he would be worthy of the title of Keyblade Master.

“What I can tell you about Vanitas amounts to this - his darkness is drawn to the light, which he seeks to disrupt… and then destroy.”

_Destroy._ The word echoed in his mind, and suddenly his vision left him.  What was going on?  Was Xehanort doing this?  His sight quickly came back, but what he saw didn’t make sense.

_Aqua, falling to her knees, battered in her armor-_

_A masked boy, keyblade held high overhead, poised to strike-_

_A blonde-haired girl, arms outstretched, facing down a terrible darkness-_

“Cinderella!” He shouted with a gasp.  His real sight returned in time to see Xehanort recoil.

“Who is that, lad? You believe Vanitas would destroy her?”

“Would he?”  Terra asked.  “She’s a heart of pure light.”  

That strange split-second vision - it had definitely been her, but what did it mean?  Xehanort seemed confused by his outburst, so he probably hadn’t caused it.  Was it just a trick of his fear?  Already it was fading; he could hardly recall the images.  There had been something about Aqua too, wasn’t there…?  Well, Aqua was a Master.  She could handle herself, assuming the strange vision meant anything at all.

“Hmm… I cannot say it is impossible, but I have reason to doubt it.  One heart of light is less tempting than a city filled with it.  It stands to reason that he will strike next in that city of light, Radiant Garden.”

Maybe Xehanort was right.  After all, there had been Unversed in the Castle of Dreams, and Cinderella had reported that they usually didn’t bother her.  That was strange in itself, if Vanitas really was drawn to destroy light.

“...Alright,” Terra reluctantly replied. “Don’t worry, Master.  I’ll take care of Vanitas.”

_Just as soon as I check on Cinderella first._

XXX

_“The keyblade is not his to bear.  He’s an abomination beyond hope of salvation.”_

Vanitas squeezed his eyes shut, holding in the tide of Unversed that wanted to explode from him.

_Monster.  Freak.  Abomination._ He didn’t care if they were right.  He was tired of hearing it, tired of feeling it.  Maybe he should just merge with Aqua now, and end this.  But no.  Ventus was still the first choice; he held his face, held the other half of his memories.  He could endure a little longer.

Vanitas crept down from the rock outcropping.  He’d planned to ask Xehanort about Ventus’s progress once Terra left, but if he faced the geezer now he wasn’t sure he’d be able to contain his Unversed.

He left the Graveyard, those scathing words still burned into his memory.

XXX

“Cinderella!”

“Cinderella!”

_“Cinderellaaa!”_

Cinderella paused in arranging the dinner trays, trying to block the shouts from her mind.  Deep breath.  Everything was fine; this was the way it had always been.  She could handle the shouts and the insults.

_“Things can always be worse.  That doesn’t make it okay for them to treat you badly.”_ She remembered Terra’s words from two nights ago.  More and more, she was feeling inclined to believe him.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” she said, though she knew her stepmother and stepsisters couldn’t hear.  She balanced one tray on her head, the other two in her hands, and began the precarious walk into the hall and up the staircase.

“What’s taking her so long?  I bet my food’s cold by now!”

“Hmph, if she even cooked it at all!”

_I’d like to see_ you _try to prepare a meal on your own,_ she thought.  It would likely end with the whole manor in flames.  Or the three of them starving to death.

Lucifer tried to trip her on the stairs, but she sidestepped him with the effortless grace afforded her by practice.  Gus peeked out from her pocket to blow a raspberry at him.

“Now, now, Gus,” she chuckled, “let’s be nice.”  Not that the cat deserved it, but provoking him would only mean more trouble for her mouse friends later, and she couldn’t always be around to rescue them.

“I wish-a Ven-Ven come back,” Jaq said from her other pocket.  “ _He_ not have-a be scared of Roos-a-fee.  He strong, very strong!”

Cinderella sighed wistfully.  “Yes, I wish he could have stayed too, but he did need to find his friend.”  He had stayed for one more night, but when she had told him she didn’t plan on calling Terra for a while at least, he decided to continue his search elsewhere.  She had wished she could help him, but she couldn’t bring herself to try the magical link with Terra just yet.  His mission was too important for her to distract him again so soon.  

Besides, if she did, she wasn’t certain her heart could weather another goodbye.

“ _Cinderellllllla_!”  Drizella called, and Cinderella realized she had been standing motionless at the top of the staircase.

“Cinderelly head still-a up in sky?”  Jaq asked jokingly.

“If only I was,” she mumbled mostly to herself, remembering the exhilaration of flying.  She had relived that short flight with Terra in her dreams, but nothing could compare to the reality.

She delivered the evening meal to her stepmother and stepsisters without too much incident.  Drizella accused her of stealing her hairbrush; Anastasia again gloated of how she’d danced with the prince; Stepmother handed her a list of extra tasks to be done before she went to bed.   _Dust the ceilings,_ she noticed.  How wonderful.  She’d be staying up until midnight again tonight, and not in the company of any kind strangers this time.

“You two go get some rest,” she told Gus and Jaq, letting them scramble down her arm onto the banister.

“What about you, Cinderelly?”  Jaq asked.

“Yeah, uhh, you sleep too?”  Gus stared up at her.  She smiled.

“No, Gus.  I have work to do.  But you two have been so kind to stay with me all day.”

“We just want-a you be happy, Cinderelly!”

“Yeah, like when you was with Terra,” Gus added.

Her face heated in spite of herself.  “Yes.  Well.  There’s no need to worry about that.  Go on, get to bed.”

They gave her one last grin - one she couldn’t read as anything but suspicious - and darted off towards one of their mouseholes.

“I can still be happy,” she said to herself.  That was one thing she always believed she could choose: her stepfamily might control her actions, but she could control her attitude.  Whether or not Terra ever came back, she at least had that.  And she’d always have those sweet memories, too.

“ _Sing, sweet nightingale, sing sweet nightingale_ …” She sang to herself as she descended the stairs in search of her broom.  The melody kept her mind off of her fatigue.  “ _Oh sing swee-”_

_KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK._ Three raps on the door cut off her singing.  Who would be here so late at night?  Had the Prince really come to propose, as Anastasia kept claiming he would?

“Answer that, Cinderella!”  Her stepmother called from above, even as Anastasia came flying from her room.

“No, wait!  Let me do it!  It’s for me!”

“You’re in your nightgown, Anastasia,” Cinderella gently pointed out.  Her stepsister paused halfway down the stairs before sprinting back up.

“The Prince can’t see me like this!  Where is my dress?  You better have washed it already!”

Cinderella just shook her head and made for the door.  She highly doubted it would actually be for Anastasia, but she also had no idea who it could be.

She pulled open the door with a polite “May I help-?” only to have the breath stolen from her lungs.

“Hey.” Terra stood in the doorway, tall, dark, and handsome as ever.  He was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck as she stared.  Had she fallen asleep during her chores?  Was she dreaming?  “Sorry to come by so late, uh, I can come back later if it’s-”

“Who is it?”  Drizella yelled from upstairs.  “I know it’s not for you!”

Cinderella slammed the door.  With herself on the outside of it.  If her stepfamily was really so inclined to find out who was here, they could come down themselves.  Until then, this moment was hers.

“What are you doing here?”  She asked, no, demanded.  “If my stepfamily sees you, they’ll-!”   _They’ll never let me see you again,_ she would have finished, if emotion hadn’t closed off her throat.

“I’m sorry,” he said, stepping back with a wince.  “I should’ve thought before - I’ll leave.”

“What?  Terra, no.”  She instinctively reached out for his hand, but then hesitated.  “Forgive my outburst.  I was just surprised to see you back so soon, and - why _are_ you back?  Did you find the answers you were looking for?”

“Well, sort of.”  He sighed.  “My mission’s going to be even tougher than I thought, but I did learn some things.  I know where the Unversed are coming from now.”

“You do?  That’s good, isn’t it?’’ She asked, but his troubled frown said otherwise.

“I guess.  There’s a boy in a mask who controls them.  His name is Vanitas.  I was told he’s looking to destroy light anywhere he can find it.”

“That’s… that’s terrible.”

Terra nodded.  “That’s why I had to come back.  You have so much light in you, Cinderella.  I had to make sure you were safe from him.”

Her heart beat quickly; it still hadn’t recovered from the shock of his sudden appearance.  And just to make sure she was safe, too… “I’m alright,” she assured him.  “I haven’t seen as many of those monsters nearby since the ball, though some people in town were saying they caused quite the commotion in the castle today.”

“In the castle?  But not here?”  He frowned again.  “Strange…”

“Well, the castle is the beacon of the kingdom.  I suppose it makes sense.”

“The castle isn’t the brightest thing here; you are.”  He said it like an obvious fact.  Her blush didn’t seem to faze him.  “If Vanitas’s Unversed are here, they’ll come for you.”

“I don’t understand.  What kind of light do you think I have?”  She asked.

He opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment the door slammed open.  He stepped back from the porch as Anastasia came barrelling out, her magenta dress rumpled and her auburn hair flying everywhere.

“The prince is _mine,_ Cinderella!  You can’t-!”  Her jaw dropped when she saw Terra.  She looked him up and down once, then twice for good measure.  Cinderella had to clear her throat before Anastasia finally asked, “Who are _you?”_

“Uhh…”  Terra shared a look with Cinderella.

“He’s, uh, the blacksmith’s apprentice,” she blurted the first lie that came to her mind.  With those muscular arms of his, it would be believable.  “I, um, put in an order for some new… fireplace pokers at the marketplace today.  He just had a question about it.”

“Fireplace pokers?”  Anastasia sneered.

“Winter’s coming.  They’re very important, you know.  For starting fires.”  Cinderella forced a smile.  Goodness, she hated lying.  But if they knew Terra was her… her what?  Her friend?  Regardless, if they saw that she had time to spend with him, they would surely fill it with more meaningless chores.

“Hmph.  I can’t believe you got my hopes up for a blacksmith’s apprentice.”  She stuck up her nose and strutted back inside - though she did cast another appreciative glance over her shoulder before slamming the door behind her.  Cinderella let out the breath she’d been holding.

“I’m sorry about her,” she said to Terra.

“Don’t worry about me.  I’m sorry I almost got you in trouble.  Is there any way I can make it up to you?”

She stared into his eyes; it was easier to do that here, when he had retreated to the porch step below hers.  He didn’t need to do anything.  Just letting her see him again was more than she would have asked for.  But, since he _was_ asking...

Maybe she _could_ have some kind company again tonight.

XXX

“You’re quite sure this isn’t below the dignity of a knight?”  Cinderella asked him a few hours later as she handed him a tall broom.

“I promise.”  He smiled, then stared up at the high ceiling of the foyer.  “Your family really expects you to reach those cobwebs all by yourself?”  That sounded more difficult than taking out the Unversed he’d been fighting for the past couple of hours.  Though she had said she hadn’t seen them, the woods around her house were still teeming with the monsters.

She fetched the ladder from a hidden closet and leaned it against the wall.  “That and more.  I’ll still need to scrub the bathrooms before bed, but I doubt I can sneak you in most of those.”

He grimaced.  “And I thought chores in the Land of Departure were bad…”  He’d never complain to Master Eraqus again.  Not that he was often bold enough to.

“The Land of Departure?  I haven’t heard of that kingdom.”

Terra froze.  “Uhh…”  He fished for a lie, then finally sighed.  “At this rate you’re going to find out all of my secrets.”

She smiled almost slyly.  “Does that mean you’re going to finally tell me?”

“I wish I could.  Honest.  There’s a lot of rules I have to follow though.”

“Well, I suppose I have to respect that,” she relented.  Another ladder emerged from the closet, which she placed against the opposite wall.  “Be careful, this one tends to wobble.”

He nodded, and they took their positions atop their respective ladders.  She was right; it did seem a little unsteady.  He gulped and reminded himself that as a part of his armor, his boots has the special effect of protecting him from falls.  Just as long as he made sure to land on them, and not his head.

Despite how ardorous and pointless the task was, Terra found himself enjoying it.  They kept up a light conversation, always checking their volume to avoid waking her family.  Even without her fancy ensemble and the magical atmosphere of the ball, Terra could feel Cinderella’s light seeping into him, alleviating his frustrations and fears about Vanitas.  He still didn’t understand why the Unversed would have congregated at the castle, though - unless he had somehow heard that she was at the ball, and assumed she lived there?  He doubted there could be anyone else with enough light in this world to attract the monsters.  He decided not to worry about it too much at the moment; he was just glad she was safe.

Well, as safe as she could be while basically being enslaved to her family.  There had to be something he could do about that, but he had no idea what.  Helping with her chores for one night wouldn’t do much in the long run, but at least it was something, he supposed.

“So, what do you usually do to pass the time while you’re working?”  He asked.

“Oh, I sing to myself, mostly.”  She stretched the broom high above her head, balancing precariously at the top rung of the ladder.  Maybe he should lend _her_ his boots.

“Really?  My friends and I like to do that sometimes when we clean together.”  Usually Ven would start it, belting out some pop song or another that had stuck in his mind in defiance of his memory loss.  The younger boy had a better voice than himself and Aqua, but he insisted that they all sounded best when they sang together, and would sometimes pester them until they joined in.

Cinderella laughed.  “That sounds lovely.  I’d love to hear your voice sometime.”

“Huh?  Uh, I don’t know-”

“Cinderelly!  Cinderelly!”  A tiny voice saved him from being forced to admit that his singing voice wasn’t all that great.  The voice belonged to a familiar red-shirted mouse running out from a crack in the baseboard.  “Ven-Ven here!  Ven-Ven want to see you!”

“Ven?”  Terra nearly fell off of his ladder; he braced himself against the wall for balance.  “Ven is _here?_ ”

“Wait, you can understand Jaq?”  Cinderella asked.  “I thought I was the only one who could.”

He shrugged.  “I can hear the mice, but I didn’t understand whatever the birds said to you the other day.” He figured the keyblade had something to do with it, helping him understand other languages.

Cinderella looked relieved, for some reason.  “Oh.  Well, anyway, Ven said that he’s been looking for you.  I met him the same day I met you, but I didn’t learn that he was trying to find you until you had already left.  He taught me how to use your… what did he call it?  ‘Dee Link’?”

“ _Terra!_ ”  Another tiny form dashed out of the hole in the wall.  Terra did a double take at the unmistakable voice.

“Ven!”  Terra climbed halfway down the ladder, then leapt the rest of the way to the ground.  The impact shook the floor enough that mouse-sized Ven fell over, but Terra knelt down and scooped him up into his palms.  “How did you get here?  ...And how did you get so small?”

“That’s what I’m asking!”  Ven threw his arms in the air.  “How come you still get to be big?”

“Maybe it’s because you’re so small to begin with.  The world just thought you were closer to a mouse than a person.” Terra grinned.  He’d decided to just take this world’s strange magic in stride.

“Oh, hah hah! Very funny!”  Ven put his hands on his hips and stuck out his tongue.  By that point Cinderella had descended her ladder and knelt down next to Terra.

“I’m so glad you made it,” she said to Ven.  “I wasn’t sure the magic would work from so far away.”

“Of course it would!  Terra and Aqua and I use it all the time.  Well, ever since she gave these to us a week ago, anyway.”  He pulled out his Wayfinder.

Terra put together what the two of them had said.  “You made a D-Link with Cinderella too?”  He asked Ven.  Part of him felt a little bit hurt, though he knew it was irrational.  It wasn’t like one D-Link would overwrite the other.

“Uh-huh!  She wanted to know how to make it work, so she’d be able to talk to you again.  You’re welcome.”  He grinned, but the expression then slid from his face like water off a leaf.  “Can I talk to you alone now?”

Terra looked to Cinderella.  “Do you mind if I step outside?  I can come back and help finish up in a minute.”

“Don’t worry.  You’ve already helped so much, I can handle it from here.”  She stood, holding her broom upright like a mage’s staff.  “Will you be staying in town, or do you need to leave again?”

“...It wouldn’t be a bad idea to stick around,” he decided.  Master Xehanort had predicted Vanitas would strike in Radiant Garden, but that prediction could be wrong.  He might get farther by checking out the castle here before flying off to a completely unknown world.

Cinderella smiled brightly.  “Then I can meet you in the market tomorrow afternoon.  I’ll tell my stepmother I forgot one of the ingredients for supper.”

“Sure,” he found himself answering with a grin, before his mind could catch up to him.  He needed to focus; Vanitas was still on the loose.  Then again, Vanitas was still on the loose - so he could be looking to target Cinderella.  Keeping close to her might be both his best way of finding him, and the best way of protecting her.

“Wonderful!  Look for me around the butcher’s shop when the clocktower strikes noon.”

“I’ll be there.”  He stood, wishing he could hug her goodnight, but Ven was still standing on his palms.  The younger boy was grinning like he’d just won the lottery.

Terra bid Cinderella goodnight, hoping her chores wouldn’t keep her up too late, and carried Ven outside.  The air had chilled since he’d first arrived; they must have been cleaning for longer than he’d thought.  He sat down on the steps of the porch, letting Ven stand on his knee.  It was still difficult not to laugh at his friend’s predicament.

“So, what’s the matter?”  He asked.  “Did the Master send you to eliminate the Unversed  and look for Master Xehanort too?”

“Huh?  Uh, not _exactly…”_ He ruffled his hair, then sighed.  “Don’t laugh, but I was scared, okay?  I wanted to make sure you were okay, after what that weird guy in the mask said…”

“ _You saw the boy in the mask?”_ Terra demanded, his blood running cold.  “Where was he?  Did he hurt you?”

“Uh… no, all he did was say - it probably sounds stupid - but he said you were going to be a different person.  Whatever that means.”  Ven scowled.  “How do you even know him?”

_He_ was going to be a different person?  He didn’t even know Vanitas; why would he say that?  Unless it was just a taunt to get at Ven.  But why hadn’t he attacked?  Ventus was apparently pure light, though Terra couldn’t sense it the way he could the Princesses of Heart; he seemed like exactly the kind of person Vanitas would target.  Unless it had something to do with them once being the same person?

“Terra?”  Ven asked quietly.  “He… he wasn’t right, was he?”

“What?”  Terra shook off his thoughts.

“About you being a different person.”  He looked up, his eyes earnest as ever in spite of their small size.  “I went to the same worlds you did, and… there were some people who said you did things.  Bad things.”

Terra winced.  What could he say to that?  Ven had always looked up to him.  For all of Aqua’s joking, they _were_ like brothers; it was his responsibility to stay strong, to be a good example.  But now Ven knew the truth.

“They… they were wrong, right?”  Ven asked, pleaded.  But Terra had to be honest with him about this.

“I did hurt someone,” he admitted, dodging his friend’s gaze.  “Her name is Aurora.  Maleficent controlled me somehow, made me… steal her heart.  I wasn’t strong enough to fight it.”  He shut his eyes tightly.  “There really is darkness inside me.  But I’m doing my best to fight it.”

“Terra… I’m sorry.”

He opened his eyes - that hadn’t been what he’d expected Ven to say.  Ven was so full of light; he’d expected him to be afraid, or hurt, or even disappointed, which might be worse than anything.

“I got her heart back from Maleficent,” Ven smiled.  “She’s all better now.”

“She is?”  Terra asked.  When Ven nodded, he grinned in relief.   _She’s safe…_ a guilt lifted from his shoulders.  It didn’t excuse what he’d done, but at least she would be alright.  “I wanted to return to get her heart back myself, when I was stronger… but I’m glad you did, Ven.  I’m proud of you.”  

The younger boy beamed at the praise.  “I’m just glad she was lying.  I knew you wouldn’t do anything bad on purpose,” he said, clenching a fist.  “Maleficent and that masked guy didn’t know the first thing about you.”

That didn’t alleviate any of Terra’s concern.  “But how did he find you?”

“I… I don’t know.  He was at the Land of Departure, the day of your Exam.  I guess I just thought he came with Master Xehanort or something.”  He shrugged.  “But you know who he is?”

“His name’s Vanitas,” Terra answered in a low voice.  “He’s the one behind the Unversed.”

Ven made a choking noise.  “What?”

“I found Master Xehanort, and that’s what he told me.  He gave me a mission to hunt him down.”

“Then let me come with you!”  Ven said.  “He won’t stand a chance against the two of us!”

Terra shook his head.  “I’m sorry, Ven.  I can’t do that.”  He couldn’t bring his friend into such danger, especially knowing what Vanitas really was.  They may have avoided a fight once, but there was no telling what would happen a second time.

“Why not?”  He asked, fist over his chest.

“I just can’t.  I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“What about you?”  Ven demanded, though it was hard to take seriously when he was small enough to fit in the palm of Terra’s hand.  “What if you get hurt, Terra?  Or if you hurt someone else?”

The words hit him like a spear through the chest.  “...So that’s what it is.”  He picked Ven up off his knee and set him on the porch before standing.

“Terra, wait!  That’s not what I meant!”  Ven protested.  “I just want to help!  Why don’t you ever let me help you?”

Terra wanted to snap something back, but then he saw Ven’s face.  More specifically, saw the tiny, almost invisible tears glinting in the moonlight.  

_Light, don’t cry…_ He never could stay mad when Ven cried; all the anger dissolved to guilt.  It didn’t help that he could just imagine Cinderella looking out her window, seeing him yelling at a tiny boy.

“Ven…” He scooped him up in his palms again.  “Hey.  Actually, I do know a way you can help me.”

He sniffed.  “...You do?”

Terra nodded, forcing a smile.  “So you heard I’m sticking around this world for a little while, right?  There’s been more Unversed here lately, so I think Vanitas might be here.”

“So you are going to let me fight?”  Ven’s face brightened.  Terra chuckled.

“Ven, you’re the size of a mouse.  What are you going to do, tickle him to death?”

“...Would that work?”

He laughed.  “I’ve got a better idea.  Xehanort says that Vanitas is trying to find and destroy light.  I’m worried he might come after Cinderella.”

“Hah, I was right!”  Ven grinned knowingly.  “You _like_ her, don’t you?”

Terra froze.  “What-!  Why would you ask that?”  

“Why are you blushing?”  Ven asked smugly.  

Terra glanced back at the door, as if Cinderella would suddenly appear to witness his embarrassment.  Not that it should be embarrassing if he liked her.  She was kind, and pretty even without the sparkling dress, and she made him feel like he could be the hero he wanted to be…

_You are not helping your case,_ he told himself.  “She’s… my friend,” he replied lamely.

“Your _girlfriend~”_ Ven sing-songed.  Terra scowled and set him back on the porch.

“Goodnight, Ven.”  He started to walk away.  He’d still need to find an inn tonight, unless he wanted to camp in the woods again.

“Wait!  You never told me what you needed me to do!”  Ven called, and Terra sighed.

“Keep an eye on Cinderella, alright?  You D-Link with me if anything happens to her.”  It hurt his pride to ask for help, especially after Ven’s teasing, but his ego would just have to handle it.  It was the best way to keep both her and Ven out of trouble at the same time.

Ven saluted.  “Don’t worry, Terra!  Your girlfriend’s safe with me!”

Terra groaned one last time before jogging off into the night.

XXX

Vanitas jolted up in bed, his heart pounding erratically.  What was going on?  Had Aqua tried to escape?  No, his Cursed Coach was rocking back and forth peacefully; he could make out her silhouette lying down with her back to him.  Had one of his other large Unversed been destroyed?  He’d left one in Radiant Garden; he reached out to it and felt it buzz faintly at the attention.  Funny, he would’ve thought Terra would have attacked it by now.

_If it’s not the Unversed, then…_ He groaned as the feeling pounded in his chest.  Light, pushing down on him from the outside, making it hard to breathe. _Ventus, you freak.  What are you doing this time?_

He’d come up with tricks to block his heart from his other half’s; most of the time they worked.  But Ventus occasionally found ways to sneak through, usually when he was excessively, painfully _happy._

Stifling a grumble, Vanitas let down his safeguards and followed the feeling.  It was almost like tracing an Unversed, if one that wouldn’t obey him and made him burn when he tried to make contact.  At least Ventus didn’t know how to make it work the other way around.

A flood of sensations poured in from his other half:   _relief joy worry hope Terra safe Cinderella gratitude-_

Vanitas gasped, pulling back from the onslaught of light.  He only caught vague impressions and images, but it had been enough to know that he was with Terra.  And he seemed to be on this world, of all places, which didn’t make sense.  Vanitas should have felt him more strongly if that were the case.

Whatever the reason, he grudgingly had to thank Ventus for the information.  Terra was here.  That wasn’t good, not good at all.  Xehanort expected him in Radiant Garden by now; Vanitas was going to suffer for failing to lure him there.  And if Terra and Ven were here because they knew about Aqua…

His eyes darted to her sleeping form.  He might have to take precautionary measures, but for now, the best strategy was to lay low.  He didn’t want to relocate just yet; moving her too far through the corridors could have dangerous side effects.  He’d already used them to get her to this storage room in the first place, as well as to lead her to and from a spare bathroom as necessary.  Each time she’d come out of the corridor nearly throwing up.

_Hmph.  Serves her right._ She had been particularly stubborn today, refusing to accept food and scribbling in her little book any time he tried to talk to her.  Her willpower was impressive, honestly.  He would’ve caved if someone had offered him the chocolate cake he’d had his Unversed steal from the kitchen today.  Regardless, he didn’t want to kill her - on purpose or on accident.  

_Why?  Because she played pretend with you for one night?  Well, playtime’s over.  Now she knows the real you, and she doesn’t want anything to do with you.  You knew that from the start._

_Monster.  Freak.  Abomination._

“Shut up,” he growled, pounding a fist against his helmet.  Sleeping with the thing was irritating, but better than Aqua waking up and seeing his face.  And it was still better to sleep here in a real bed than in the Keyblade Graveyard.  Overall, things were still looking up.

_Ventus, you better not blow this for me,_ he thought hard at his other half.  That was when he realized: in the stream of impressions he’d received from Ventus, not one of them had been about Aqua.  So they most likely weren’t talking about her… but he had felt another thought, another name.   _Cinderella._ Terra might have mentioned her in his talk with Master Xehanort, he thought.  Vanitas had been a little more focused on other things.

_“He’s an abomination beyond hope of salvation.”_

He knew Xehanort was right.  Maybe that was why it hurt.

_Whatever.  Mope later.  Cinderella, why does she seem familiar?_ He tried to sort through the feelings he’d gotten from Ventus; they had come so quickly.  But her name was associated with light, even more than usually came with Ventus’s emotion-vomit.

_Brighter than Ventus… no way._ She was that Princess of Heart, wasn’t she?  The one he’d seen Terra approach before the ball.  He’d thought for sure that his Unversed would’ve scared her off.  Was she the one he’d shown up to the castle with, too?

Someone important to Terra… important enough that he would come back here rather than continuing on to Radiant Garden…

Vanitas was still wearing a smirk when he finally fell asleep.


	7. Proving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another quick update, then I’ll probably have to take a break for a little bit.  I have to work on an original story for my creative writing class, so of course that’s when my motivation to write fanfiction increases exponentially xD

The third morning of Aqua’s incarceration, she awoke before Void.  The first rays of morning inched across the floor, lighting the motes of dust so they looked like floating stars.  She breathed them in.  After two days, she hardly felt how they tickled her throat.

Void snored softly.  Funny, how relaxed he could sound.  The cagelike Unversed - Void had called it a Cursed Coach - rocked peacefully, as if it really did share his emotions.  Maybe she could use that.  Somehow.

She took an empty potion bottle from the corner of her cage and used magic to spray it full of water.  The previous day she had come up with fragments of a plan, which lay encoded in the pages scattered on the floor around her, but she still felt at an impasse.  Her most hopeful step had been an utter failure.  In the afternoon while Void had been gone, she had attempted to sneak out through the Cursed Coach’s barred mouth, but the creature had constricted, slamming its ceiling down on her over and over until it broke through her Barrier spell.  If Void knew what had happened, he hadn’t said anything about it.  He’d come back in a flying rampage, smashing crates and leaking out inky Unversed.  She didn’t know why, and she hadn’t asked.  She was simply grateful he hadn’t attacked her.

_ Grateful?   _ No.  She wouldn’t show gratitude to that monster.  She was just relieved, perhaps.

She splashed the water from her bottle on her face, then swished the dregs around in her mouth.  She could have waited for Void to wake and take her to the bathroom - which had looked ornate but abandoned, with white marble countertops layered in dust - but she shuddered at the thought of traveling through his dark portals again.  Eventually she would grow desperate enough for a toilet, but she hated the way the darkness pressed in, like it wanted to push out all of her insides.  If it didn’t make her so weak, she would have relished the time in the bathrooms as a means to escape.

After performing that small bit of hygiene, she munched on a bag of granola she’d packed.  Five days of rations left.

While one piece of her plan had proved useless, she still had at least two more ideas to attempt today.  Unfortunately, those ideas all involved actually speaking with Void.  And not just speaking - speaking  _ politely.   _ She could do it, but it chafed her pride to be forced to negotiate with a monster.

He snored again.  The human sound still felt jarring, coming from him.  It was a noise that could have as easily come from Terra or Ven.  Maybe even in his sleep he was trying to manipulate her.

She was tempted to yell at him to wake up, but she needed him in a good mood for her request, so she waited.  Her journal was going to run out of pages at this rate.  She doodled her Wayfinder in it, then Terra and Ven’s faces.  Terra’s head came out looking like a brick, and Ven appeared cross-eyed.  It was so terrible she almost laughed.

_ Light, I hope they’re doing better than I am.   _ Especially Ven.  Terra she trusted to take care of himself, regardless of what the Master said, but Ven… she’d always felt an innate responsibility to protect him, like the little brother she’d never had.

Void didn’t wake up until the sun came streaming in across his helmet - he  _ did  _ sleep in it, remarkably.  It reflected the light into her eyes, blinding her when she happened to look up.

“Ugh…” Void kicked the thick blankets off, and she realized he’d worn his boots to sleep, too.  She had slipped hers off the day before and hadn’t bothered to replace them, considering she probably wouldn’t be walking outside for a little while.  “Gotta block out that window…”

He stumbled out of bed, out of her line of sight, presumably to the source of the light.  She heard sounds of cracking wood, and then the light disappeared in patches until she could hardly see.  She lit a Fire to hover nearby, agitating the Cursed Coach.  It swelled up to twice its size in order to put more distance between itself and the flames.   _ I should have tried this when I tried to escape. _

“Great.  You’re awake.  Don’t suppose you’re going to talk to me today, either,” he mumbled.  She wasn’t sure that he intended for her to hear, but she responded anyway.

“I am, actually.”  She cleared her throat, gathering her courage.  He perched on the footboard of the bed, knees bent, the ends of his skirt hanging down by his feet.

“Alright then, spit it out.  I don’t have all day.”

“I want to see Vanitas,” she said.  She doubted he would accept her request, but it was worth a try before she made a more reasonable pitch.

He snorted.  “So you two can try to make an escape plan together?  I don’t think so.”

“What could we do?  You’d be right there watching us,” Aqua retorted.

“You’re a prisoner.  You don’t get to make demands.  Besides, what makes you think he’d even want to see you?  You’re the one who got him stuck in this mess.”

She bit her lip.  She shouldn’t let Void’s words get to her, even if they were true.  “Then let me apologize to him.  He deserves that much.”

He laughed wickedly.  “That idiot deserves a punch in the face.  Beg all you want,  _ Aqua,  _ it’s not going to happen.”

A frown parted her lips at his words.  His voice, the way he’d said that… She had to be imagining things, but for half a second, it had reminded her of Vanitas.  Maybe she just missed him more than she’d thought. 

“Then how do I know you even have him?”  She asked boldly.  Void didn’t respond immediately.  She could only assume he was staring at her through that dark mask of his.  “You leave from time to time, but you never mention checking on him.  All your complaints are about different worlds, or you just break things.  I don’t think a harmless boy would make you so angry.”

Void chuckled.  “He’s not as harmless as you think.”

Aqua wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean, if it meant anything at all.  “I asked you a question,  _ Void.” _

He shrugged.  “Alright.  Fine.  You want to know I’ve got him?  Write him a letter.  I’ll give it to the brat, let him write you one back.”

She let a smile pull the corner of her lips.  “I suppose that will work.”  She held out two sheets of paper that she’d been sure to keep safe and unwrinkled.

“What are you-?”  He laughed, and his next words sounded almost impressed.  “That was your plan all along, wasn’t it.  You knew I wouldn’t let you see him.”

She flashed a knowing smile as one of his Scrappers appeared and stole away the pages, taking them back to its master.  She had scored one point against Void.  Thinking about it that way gave her hope - it was almost like a game.

And as Terra and Ven could attest, Aqua was ruthless at games.

XXX

_ “Vanitas.  I need to speak with you at once.” _

Really?  Now?  He had just corridored to a secluded part of the woods in the Castle of Dreams, where he could read Aqua’s letter in relative peace.  Of course, he should have predicted that Xehanort would summon him early today.  If Terra hadn’t moved on to Radiant Garden, Vanitas would be the one taking the blame.  As usual.

He folded the sheets of paper into a tight square and tucked it in his belt, then opened a dark corridor to the Keyblade Graveyard.

“Vanitas,” Xehanort snapped before he had fully emerged from the darkness.  Then the Master flashed forward and gripped the front of his helmet.  “I gave you an order.  Why have you disobeyed me?”

Vanitas stayed very, very still, hoping Xehanort wouldn’t shatter his helmet again.  Last time the shards had nearly stabbed him in the eyes.  “I didn’t.  Terra just didn’t take the bait.”

“Then make the bait more enticing.  I don’t have time to deal with stubborn children.”

“What, is your body giving out on you already?”  Vanitas replied snidely.  He should’ve known better.  Did know better.  But he couldn’t put the sarcastic words back in his mouth.

Then his helmet was frosting over.  He had just enough time to squeeze his eyes shut before the dark glass shattered, sprinkling to the ground and inside the metal piece cupping his chin.  One shard cut a thin line across his cheek.  “You tell me,  _ boy.” _

Vanitas swallowed.  Xehanort would be able to see his face now; that was always dangerous.  A few Floods of fear attempted to escape him, but he held them back by practice and sheer force of will.

“I get the message,” he muttered. “But it still isn’t my fault.  Terra came back to the Castle of Dreams.”

“The Castle of Dreams?”  Xehanort clasped his hands behind his back.  “How do you know this?”

“Through Ventus.  I felt him there and got a few clues.  Does the name Cinderella mean anything to you?”  Of course, Vanitas already knew what it meant, but it would be best to keep that to himself.

“Bah.  That girl he mentioned, the Princess of Heart.  I trust you’ve kept an eye on her?”  He asked in a voice that indicated he didn’t trust him at all.

“Of course I have.  I used her light just the other day, didn’t I?  I think she and Terra went to some fancy ball at the castle there.”

“And you didn’t tell me before?”

Vanitas kept a cold glare on his face, a mask to hide his more traitorous emotions.  “You didn’t ask.”

“Hmph.”  Xehanort flicked his wrist and shot an electric shock through him, nothing too damaging - just enough to make him feel like his skin was going to melt off.  He suppressed a scream but didn’t bother casting Cure; that would only make Xehanort do it again.  “You were supposed to drive Terra and Ventus apart.  Now they are together with this  _ Cinderella _ .  Fix this, Vanitas.  You have three days.”

Three days?  Coming from Xehanort, that was almost generous, but Vanitas still wasn’t sure it would be enough.  The old man didn’t seem like he intended to give him a more specific plan.  “Does that mean I have permission to hurt your vessel?”

“For every scar you leave on him, expect to receive one yourself,” Xehanort threatened calmly.  “But you may engage him in combat.  Do  _ not  _ fight Ventus.  He still lacks the strength he needs to become the X-Blade.”

“I know that.”  Vanitas rolled his eyes, then remembered that Xehanort could now see the expression.  He was just glad the old man didn’t shock him again for it.  “What about the girl?”

“The Princesses of Heart must also be protected, in case all else fails.”  Vanitas was surprised to hear the Master admit that his plans had a chance of failure.  He always sounded so confident, but maybe that confidence came from having many plans rather than one foolproof one.  Still, it was uncomfortable to think that forging the X-Blade might not be Xehanort’s only priority.  “However, if threatening her would cause Terra to step closer to the darkness, you may do so.  Do not fail me again.”

Vanitas bit his tongue - not trusting it not to betray him - and nodded.

“And one more thing, Vanitas.”  Of course.  Xehanort couldn’t let him go without another dose of drama.

“What?”

His golden eyes glowed dangerously.  “The Castle of Dreams is where you destroyed Aqua, correct?”

Vanitas held his breath, but nodded again.

“I wonder,” Xehanort began slowly, “If Terra and Ventus are aware of this fact?  Could that, and not just the Princess, be why they have not moved on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Perhaps they believe she is missing.  I doubt they would believe the newest Keyblade Master is dead without seeing the evidence.  As I find myself doubting.”

A Flood started to sprout from his back; he took a deep breath and pulled it back in.  “I told you, I took care of her.”  It was easier to keep his face blank for the half-lie rather than a full one.

“Then where is her keyblade?”  Xehanort asked.  “I had presumed you would bring it back here, where it belongs.”

“I was the one who killed her.  I can keep it wherever I want,” he snapped.  Xehanort responded with another pulse of electricity; Vanitas fell to one knee, bracing himself with his fist against the ground.

“I will allow you your little trophy,” Xehanort replied calmly, as if he hadn’t just sent thousands of volts through Vanitas’s system.  “But first you will show it to me.  As a token of trust.  Do you understand, boy?”

Vanitas spat on the dusty ground.  “Yeah.”

“Leave, and return here at once.”

He didn't need to be told twice.  He opened a corridor behind him and staggered to his feet, but looked back before leaving.

“I hate you.”

Xehanort smiled, the expression contorting his face so it looked even more wicked than usual.  “I would be concerned if you did not.”

Hate would protect him.  Hate would make him stronger.  Vanitas remembered the Master’s teachings even as he wanted to punch that smile off of his leathery face.

Repressing that violent impulse, he spun and vanished into the darkness.

XXX

Vanitas barely remembered to reform his mask before bursting from the dark corridor.  When Aqua pressed herself to the back of the Cursed Coach, he realized how terrifying he must look.  Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to worry about putting her heart at ease.

“Give me your keyblade,” he ordered, grabbing the bars of her cage.  He was growing used to the scent of her light, but it still burned through him at such close range, like inhaling a perfume straight from the bottle.  At least his mask protected him a little.  He couldn’t afford to let the sharp floral scent affect him now.

“Why?”  She put on a brave face and asked.  “Did something happen with Vanitas?  Do you have his letter for me?”

“There’s no time for that now,” he replied, about to lose his patience.  Floods and Hareraisers were already peeling off of him, dispersing through the room and running off through their own little corridors of darkness, probably on their way to find Terra and Ventus.  So much for laying low.

“Then I don’t have time to give you my keyblade.”  She crossed her arms.

Vanitas growled deep in his throat.  A Bruiser ripped out of his back, taking some of his anger with it, but not enough.  “Look, there is  _ really  _ no time for this!  Just give it!”

She glared hard enough, she probably could’ve cast Fire from her eyes.  “Make me.”

He wanted to scream.  She knew he couldn’t do it, she knew she was too important for him to hurt.  She wasn’t supposed to have realized that yet.  He’d been too soft.  He summoned electricity to his palm, thinking about trying Xehanort’s tactic - then imagined her face contorted with the same agony that had taken him minutes before, her lips parted in a wordless scream.  The lightning died at his fingertips.

_ What is wrong with me!?   _ He wanted to scream, but couldn’t let her see that much weakness.  Instead he slammed his fist into the side of the Cursed Coach, wincing when its pain became his own.

“Look,  _ Aqua.   _ If you want to live, you  _ will  _ hand over your keyblade, or so help me I will come in there and pry it from your cold, dead fingers.”

A flicker of fear passed over her face, then was gone.  “Then why don’t you?  Are you afraid to fight me?”

Unversed were still spilling from him, dozens of Floods and Scrappers at a time, proving his words wrong.  Threats weren’t getting him anywhere; she wasn’t even flinching at his Unversed.  He heard Xehanort’s voice in the back of his head ordering him to return to the Graveyard.

“Aqua,  _ listen to me _ .  If you don’t let me borrow your keyblade, we’re both dead.”

For some reason, that got her attention.  “What do you mean, we’re  _ both  _ dead?”

Vanitas blinked.  He’d admitted more than he’d meant to.  But he’d worry about those consequences later.  “I mean exactly what I said.  I just need it for a few minutes.  Hand it to me, and don’t you  _ dare  _ summon it back until I return.”

After a moment of agonizing silence - broken only by Xehanort’s incessant calls - Aqua held out her hand.  A cobalt blue blade appeared there, one he had never seen up close.  She pointed the tip towards him, then reluctantly flipped it to offer the hilt.

He snatched it before she could change her mind.  “Remember.   _ Do not  _ let it disappear.”

She nodded, still staring at him with cold, hard eyes.  Void, but that expression looked good on her.  If only it weren’t directed at him.

He shook the irrelevant thought from his head and fled through another corridor.

XXX

“Here.”  Vanitas plunged Aqua’s keyblade into the hard-packed dirt.  “Happy?”

“Hmm… I suppose that will do.”  Xehanort gave a curt nod.  “It seems our newest Master was not as qualified as Eraqus assumed.”

“She put up a good fight,” Vanitas found himself defending her, even though it was a lie.  Unless the way her light speared his heart counted.

“I should hope so.  Yet Ventus and Terra will have to prove more worthy opponents, if they are to fulfill their uses.”  He paced slowly in front of Vanitas.  “Strengthen your Unversed.  Use the rage I have given you.  Push Terra and Ventus to their limits.”

_ Yes, Master,  _ Vanitas mouthed sarcastically behind his helmet.  Because it would kill the geezer to actually perform part of his plan himself.

_ Whatever.  Just wait til I forge the X-Blade… _

XXX

Aqua might not have breathed in the whole time it took for Void to return.  Every muscle in her body stayed taut, ready to fight or flee if the situation demanded.  At least the Unversed had all disappeared without harming her, though she had no idea where they had gone off to.

After several long minutes, a watered-down sense of nausea as well as the  _ whoosh  _ of an opening portal announced Void’s arrival.  He walked through, his shoulders slumped from his usual arrogant posture.  He tossed her keyblade back to her without a word; it skidded on the Cursed Coach’s floor.

“Void…?”  She asked as she picked up her blade.  It felt the same as normal, though she wasn’t sure how she would tell if he had tampered with it.  “What happened?”

She was surprised at how gentle the words came out.  He didn’t deserve her sympathy; this was probably all some kind of trick anyway.  But she still felt like the pieces didn’t add up.

“So now you want to get chatty,” he grumbled.  She wouldn’t call three words “chatty,” but she  _ had  _ given him the silent treatment the previous day, once she’d realized that he wouldn’t answer any of her direct questions.

“There’s someone else behind this,” she voiced her theory.  He snorted noncommittally.  “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“I’m the only one you need to worry about.  To everyone else, you’re dead.”

“Like I would really lose to someone like you,” she retorted, her brief moment of sympathy disappearing with the return of his arrogance.

“But Aqua - you already have.”

He faded into the darkness again.  She hadn’t even had time to ask about Vanitas.  Had Void delivered her letter?  And why had he needed her keyblade?  There were too many things she was missing, too many things that she couldn’t see through her barred window.

If this was a game, she wished she knew the rules.

XXX

Vanitas sat in the crook of a familiar tree, close to the edge of the woods, and kept his eyes trained on Cinderella’s house.  Mansion, more like.  Who else lived there with her, or did she have a whole house to herself?  He’d never seen anyone else outside.

Just like he didn’t see anyone outside now.  He figured if he was going to find Terra, the easiest way would be to find the girl.  Unless Xehanort was right, and he really  _ was  _ looking for Aqua… well, Vanitas would fix that.  Terra wasn’t half as bright as the Master; all Vanitas would have to do was tell him that his friend was dead, and his darkness would overflow before he could blink.  And of course, if that failed, he could always threaten Cinderella.  It was nice to have a few backups.

Now, if only someone would show up… 

He sighed and let out Monotrucker in irritation.  The rolling Unversed dropped to the ground and wheeled off into the forest.  That wasn’t a bad idea, actually - he released a larger horde of Unversed, hissing as their negativity bubbled out of him.

“No, not the woods, idiots.”  He rolled his eyes at them, then pointed towards the mansion.  “That way.  Terra will have to show up if you make a big enough mess.”

The motley group of Unversed obligingly lumbered, dashed, and rolled off.  He watched a few Hareraisers dig up the garden before turning his mind to more interesting things.  Namely, the letter he had tucked inside his belt.

He searched for it with his fingers, panicked for half a second when he felt nothing, then sighed in relief when he found it.  If he had dropped that in the Keyblade Graveyard… he shuddered.  He might be important to Xehanort’s plan, but the old Master would still murder him if he saw a friendly letter from Aqua.

He unfolded the two pages and began to read.

_ Void - I know you’re reading this.   _

Vanitas’s eyes widened; had she guessed so quickly?  

_ I’m not stupid.  You wouldn’t give this letter to Vanitas without making sure we’re not planning anything first.  So I might as well tell you that as soon as I get out of here, you’re going to pay if you’ve hurt him. _

He chuckled, half from relief that she was still clueless, half from the irony.  She was threatening him for hurting himself.  And while she was still a helpless prisoner, too.  He had to give her points for boldness.

_ I don’t know why you’re doing this, and I know you won’t answer my questions if I ask.  But I’m going to ask anyway, because what else do you expect me to do while I’m trapped here? _

_ What do you want with my light?  What did you mean about Terra falling into darkness?  How do you know us, and why do you care?  Why are you releasing your Unversed on the worlds? _

He could practically feel the desperation coming off of her words.  Funny, after she had been so silent yesterday.  She must have poured all the words she would have said into this letter.  Well, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to give her a tease of an answer, a taste.  A reward if she would behave.

_ Whatever you’re after, you won’t win.  Light is always able to push back the darkness. _

Vanitas rolled his eyes at that.  Spoken just like her light-crazed Master.  Why was he still bothering with her?

Those were the only words on the first page.  He flipped it over, just in case there was something on the back, but that was it.  He snorted.  Did she expect that last line to mean something?  Convert him from his dark ways?  If anything he was even more determined to prove her wrong.

Folding the first page, he tucked it away and smoothed out the second one.  His heart sped up before he even began reading, the stupid thing.  He wasn’t afraid, or angry, so what was wrong with it?  Whatever, he would worry about it later.

_ Dear Vanitas, _

_ First of all, I want you to know that I am so, so sorry.  You must be so scared and confused right now.  I don’t know what Void has told you, if he’s told you anything at all, but I owe you an explanation.  As much of an explanation as I can give, anyway.  I don’t know why he kidnapped us for sure.  He wants something with my light, and I think he took you to get to me.  Again, I’m so sorry you were dragged into this.  I  promise I will find a way to get you out. _

_ So a little bit of an explanation.  I’m not really supposed to talk about this, but you deserve to know.  I’m not actually from this world.  I don’t think Void is either.  I’m a Keyblade Master, and the weapon Void has is a keyblade, too.  It’s very dangerous, so  do not think about fighting him.  Please.  _

_...He said you put up a fight when he tried to kidnap me, though.  What did you do?  Do you know a secret to fighting him?  Nevermind, I’m sure Void is reading this letter, so don’t answer that.  If he even lets you read it. _

_ Speaking of which, when you write back - I hope you’re not too mad at me to write back, though if you are, I understand - can you include something so I know it’s you?  Something that Void wouldn’t know.  I don’t trust him not to forge a letter from you. _

_ I’m sorry again.  I can’t say I’m sorry enough.  If I had told the truth about being a Keyblade Master before, you might have known better than to spend the evening with me.  I was trying to follow the rules, but I think I was being selfish, too.  I really enjoyed spending time with you… _

_ I really hope you’re alright, wherever Void is keeping you.  I wish there was more I could do to help you.  If there is anything I can do - if there’s anything Void will let me do - I’ll do it. _

_ Hang in there, Vanitas.  I’ll think of something. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Aqua _

…

…

Vanitas stared at the page, his eyes searching for more words, even though both sides of the paper were completely filled with squished but neat handwriting.  He was… he didn’t know what he was.  Stunned?  Dumbstruck?  Whatever the strong feeling was, it didn’t produce an Unversed, which was unusual.

_ Void’s Abyss.  She really does care.   _ About someone who didn’t really exist.  Sure, “Vanitas” might share his name, but that one unmasked night already felt like eons ago.  He might not have even lived it.

Except, if he closed his eyes, he could still feel the phantom sensation of her hand in his, of her warm arms around him…

He spun and punched the rough trunk of the tree.  Beneath his suit, he could feel the skin scrape from his knuckles.   _ Stupid, stupid idiot!   _ He didn’t know if he was cursing himself for punching the tree, or for letting himself remember Aqua’s touch, or both.  He should forget that night.  It never should have happened.  All it had done was show him what he could never have, and now he would spend the rest of his pathetic life wanting it back.

No, not the rest of his life.  He’d forge the X-Blade, and then he could take back whatever he wanted.  He would have light; he would be whole.  He would be stronger than anyone.

But, even then, would Aqua look at him the way she had that night?

_ I won’t need her to.  I’ll have my own light.   _ That was the only reason it felt so good to be around her _.   _ Right?

A Scrapper was scaling his tree, its giant claws sticking into the bark as it hauled itself upward.

“What is it?”  Vanitas demanded, reaching down to grab its head and drop it on the limb he was perched on.  “Can’t you idiots do your job without me?”

The Unversed hugged itself with one arm, pointing towards Cinderella’s mansion with the other.  Vanitas glared at the large building and registered the tall brunette running towards it.  Moments later he felt the slices of a keyblade striking down his Unversed, like cutting off a hundred phantom limbs.  Vanitas hissed; the closer he physically was when the monsters were destroyed, the more it hurt.

“Took you long enough, Terra.” He folded Aqua’s letter and returned it to his belt.  His hands itched to summon his keyblade; it would feel so good to release his frustration on the bigger apprentice, instead of in the form of Unversed.

But he couldn’t.  Not yet.  Xehanort always said he was too reckless, too focused on immediate gratification to see the bigger picture.  Vanitas thought they just had different ideas of what the bigger picture actually was.  Regardless, he would prove he could carry out this mission.

After all, his life depended on it.


	8. Deciding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven’t had a lot of notes to add on these chapters lately, but I want to say thank you guys for all the reviews! It always makes my day!

Terra skidded to a stop outside Cinderella’s house.  When he’d felt Ven’s D-Link, he knew something had to be wrong - he’d thought Vanitas might have shown up, or maybe Cinderella’s family had done something out of hand.  But he hadn’t expected a whole horde - practically a whole army - of Unversed, charging the doors of the manor.  Not just the doors; they were breaking through the windows, tearing apart the garden, climbing the stone walls.

Terra didn’t think twice.  He charged into the mass of monsters, not caring that there had to be at least a hundred of them, the largest horde he’d ever seen in one place.  If even one of them got to Cinderella...

 _Vanitas, you are going to pay for this,_ he vowed as he cut through the Floods on the fringes of the mob.  That got their attention.  The Bruisers and Scrappers closer to the doors turned in time to catch a strike raid to the face.

From there, all hell broke loose as the dozens and dozens of Unversed swarmed him.  They pressed in close; he barely had room to swing his keyblade.  Bruisers charged; Scrappers scratched; Hareraisers slapped - in no time he had a collection of cuts, bruises, and welts.  He tried to activate his armor, but a Blue Sea-Salt froze his hand before he could.  He hissed and clenched his fist, shattering the ice that encased it.

 _Shake it off,_ he told himself. Feeling returned to his hand as he stabbed a Bruiser through its fat stomach, only for two more to take its place. _There’s just so many!_

He wasn’t sure he could beat them all.  As even more of the monsters appeared out of nowhere, his doubts multiplied.  The best plan would be to take them out at their source: Vanitas.  But if he fled to track down the boy, the Unversed would take down Cinderella’s house for sure.

He shouted with anger, striking down a pair of Blue Sea-Salts with a Quick Blitz.  A surge of power washed over him as his Critical Impact command style activated.

That would even up the odds.  He dashed across the battlefield, leaping, flipping, slamming his keyblade into the monsters.  But still, impossibly, they kept coming, appearing out of nowhere, landing blows on his back and sides. One Monotrucker cut a gash down the back of his calf. He cast a hasty Cure, but it was broken by the whip of a Thornbite’s vines before it could take effect.

Snarling in pain, he spun and destroyed the monster, but it was useless - more were still pressing in; he couldn’t escape fast enough with the searing pain in his leg.  It took all his effort not to collapse to one knee.  If only his Cure would reload-!

“ _Terra_!”  He heard a voice from the window.  Though he couldn’t look up, he knew it was Cinderella.

“Stay inside!”  He shouted back.  “I’ve got this!”

He wished he felt as confident as he sounded.  He wished that she didn’t have to watch him get his butt kicked.  But while wishing and believing were sometimes enough, he didn’t think this was one of those times.

Pivoting on his good leg, he cast Fire, then Strike Raid, clearing himself a bit of space.  The power built inside him, leading up to his Finish Command, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull it off without damaging himself further.

A Red Hot Chili swept in from above, launching a fireball; he ducked to the side so it only grazed his shoulder.  But even just a graze from a ball of fire hurt like Hades.  It distracted him enough for a Bruiser to slam into him from behind, knocking him flat on his face.  His keyblade skidded across the patchy grass.

“Terra!”  This time it was Ven’s small voice that called, but his friend wouldn’t be able to help him now.  “Cinderella, wait!  You can’t go out there!”

 _What?_ Terra rolled to his side, in time to see past the gang of Scrappers lunging towards him. Cinderella was running out into the fray, armed with nothing but a broom she held like a quarterstaff.

“Cinderella!”  He yelled, casting a weak Thunder spell to knock back the incoming Unversed.  He tried to get to his feet, but his bleeding leg wouldn’t support him.

“What does she think she’s _doing_?”  One of the stepsisters yelled.

“She’s going to get herself killed!  How stupid!”

“Well, that’s her problem.  I’m staying right here!”

Terra started to see red - and not just from the pain.  Her family might not care if she lived or died, but he did.  And he was _not_ going to let that happen.

Rising to one knee, he summoned Earthshaker back to his hand.  Then with all the power, all the anger and pain and fear he possessed, he slammed it into the ground.

A wave of dirt flew up, exploding outward from the impact.  The shockwave pushed the Unversed back and also knocked Cinderella to the ground in the middle of swinging her broom.  He wanted to make sure she was alright, but the monsters were the bigger threat right now.  

But he could still hardly move.  He needed to end this quickly, before he lost too much more blood.  And before Cinderella got really hurt.

His Cure reloaded, and he cast it, barely staunching the flow of blood down his leg.  The Unversed were back on their feet and rushing towards him again.  Good.  Let them come.  Whatever kept them away from her.

But he still needed a plan.  A real plan, not just stalling until his strength finally failed him.  He just - he just needed to be _stronger -_

Cinderella cried out in pain.  One Scrapper had clawed the side of her brown dress; she smacked it over the head with her broom.  It staggered, but kept coming for her as her sisters pointed and laughed from the window.

Rage swallowed him.  And suddenly he had the strength he needed.

A dark energy pooled at the tip of his keyblade, then erupted into orbs that shot after the Unversed, obliterating them on contact.  Cinderella skipped back, narrowly avoiding the one that destroyed the Scrapper she was fighting.

Terra kept feeding the keyblade, pouring his energy into it, and it didn’t fail him.  The dark projectiles kept firing until the last Unversed was nothing more than a wisp of blue smoke.

Then, at last, he collapsed back to the ground, too exhausted to consider the implications of what he’d just done.

XXX

Vanitas gasped for breath, nearly screaming when the last of his negativity returned to him.  So many Unversed… he’d poured everything he had into them - all his rage at Master Xehanort, all his fear that Aqua would escape, all his jealousy for Ventus.  And Terra had _still_ nearly beaten them without calling on the darkness.

The emotions burned within him, still hot from their brief jaunt in the physical world.  They wanted out again, but Vanitas wouldn’t let them.  Couldn’t let them.  If Terra destroyed any more, the pain might break him.  Even if Terra was unconscious as he seemed, just letting the Unversed out again so soon could break him.  He hadn’t created this many at once since the early days of his training, when Xehanort was first testing his limits.  When he didn’t know how to hold in his fear and rage and hurt.  When he’d hated his creations, killing them over and over, destroying pieces of himself...

He stumbled farther into the forest, flung off his helmet, and threw up.  He hadn’t had nearly enough food today - had he eaten anything at all? - and it was mostly acidic bile that came up.  He grimaced and wiped his mouth, resolving to steal a toothbrush today.  And some more food.

Aqua would need to eat soon, too.  She couldn’t have much food left on her.  And he hadn’t taken her to the bathroom all day - maybe he should move her to that room he’d found that connected to the bathroom.  That would make his job a lot easier, even if it was a little less secure.  Void, but taking care of another person was annoying.  It was hard enough keeping himself alive.

He took a moment to breathe, hands on his knees.  Sweat clung to his face, and he felt a little like throwing up again, but he would be alright.  He would be fine.  He’d succeeded in the mission - Terra was sure to run off again after giving in to the darkness like that.  He wouldn’t find Aqua.  And Ventus… he still felt close, but the connection was fainter than usual.  Well, if his other half stuck around, he’d find a way to deal with him.  It had been easy enough the first time.

As a reward for a job well done, he allowed himself a quick power nap… which turned into more of a regular nap.  It was was late afternoon by the time his grumbling stomach woke him up.  Oh well, he was sure Aqua hadn’t missed him.  

He picked up his helmet and stuffed it over his hair, which was caked in sweat.  Maybe he should make use of the castle’s running water today.  It was a luxury he hadn’t thought about until he’d overheard Aqua muttering about needing a shower the previous day.

He opened a dark corridor and emerged in the castle’s storage room -

Where he found Aqua lounging in the corner of the Cursed Coach, with some kind of interactive _board game_ of all things spread out on her lap.  She didn’t even look up when he entered.

“Glad to see you’re entertaining yourself,” he said, letting the annoyance seep into his voice.  Even when she was a prisoner, her life was still cake compared to his.  “Get up.  We’re moving.”

“Moving?”  That got her attention.  She pressed a button, and the little illusions running around her game board faded.  He didn’t get a good look, but he thought one of them was Ventus.  That thing couldn’t let her talk to her friends, could it?  He frowned and resolved to check it out later.  “Moving where?”

“Does it matter?”  He snapped.  “It’s not like you have a choice.”

She frowned but stood anyway.  “Has Vanitas written me a letter yet?”

Void, she wasn’t going to let that drop, was she?  “Look, my life doesn’t revolve around you two,” he said as he opened a giant corridor, one large enough to fit the Cursed Coach through.  “I’ve been too busy to deliver your letter.”

“Busy doing what?  Kidnapping other innocent people?”

Knowing it would annoy her, he left through the corridor before answering.  He had to make sure no one had suddenly decided to clean up the unused bedroom overnight, though he doubted anyone would.  From his brief exploration, he’d deduced that it used to be the queen’s extra chambers, but clearly there was no queen around anymore. It was closer to the heart of the castle, but still isolated in its own wing.  And if anyone decided to bother them there, he could always take care of them and move again.

As expected, it was dusty and empty as ever.  And, conveniently, it had its own bed, if one that had a second blanket of dust on top of the comforter.

He returned to guide the Cursed Coach through the portal, and Aqua repeated her question.  “What have you been so busy doing?”

 _Keeping you alive,_ he wanted to snap.   _And pushing your friend into the darkness._  But she didn’t need to know either of those things.

“Brace yourself,” Vanitas warned her, then jumped and grabbed onto the Cursed Coach’s side as it rolled through the corridor.  He caught her face through the window, teeth clenched, face greenish in the ethereal lighting of the portal.  She wasn’t made to travel this way.  Her armor might have protected her, but he feared she would use the corridors as a way to escape if he told her that.  If she ran off here, she could end up spat out anywhere in the worlds.  Knowing his luck, she’d probably end up on Master Xehanort’s doorstep.

It wasn’t long before light engulfed them on the other side.  Even through the heavy rose-print curtains, this room was much better lit than the storage area.

“Where are we?”  Aqua asked, squinting against the light.

“Your new bedroom,” he answered, forgetting to be mysterious.  “Bathroom’s connected.  No more dark corridors every time you need to pee or something.”

Red flushed her face, replacing the green tinge.  “How thoughtful.  Now I’m in a prison with indoor plumbing.”  She sneezed; the Cursed Coach had kicked up a fair amount of dust on its way in.  “Would it kill you to clean every once in a while?”

He shrugged.  “Not my castle, not my problem.”

He realized too late - when a smile flickered on her face - that he’d given away too much.  

“So we’re in a castle, and it doesn’t belong to you.  Could it be that we’re still in the Castle of Dreams?”

As if he was going to be stupid enough to answer that.  “How much food do you have left?”

She frowned.  “Enough to last until I get out of here.”

He opened a corridor.  “Suit yourself, but I’m getting a hot lunch today.  See you later, _Aqua.”_

She was calling something behind him - he didn’t catch what - as he left, dropping out of his corridor in the air above the queen’s wing.  He angled his fall and caught hold of the top of a column.  

Sure enough, he couldn’t hear Aqua from here.  The castle’s thick walls were good for more than just looking fancy.  He spied over the hall, but it was as abandoned as before.  He nodded to himself, dropped - only stumbling a little at the impact; he blamed his exhaustion and hunger - and crept off in search of food.

He was nearly to the populated area of the castle when he heard voices.  One loud voice in particular.  

“Now, son, you know it’s vital to our kingdom that you find a wife-”

“Yes, yes, Father, you’ve _told_ me.  At least eighty times now.”

The voices were coming closer; Vanitas shimmied up another column rather than risking them hearing his dark corridor open.

“Well, only because you never listen!  What about that young woman you danced with at the ball?”

“Which one?”

“Lad, you can’t tell me you don’t remember!  You only danced with two, and even _I_ wouldn’t have you marry that Tremaine girl.”

Vanitas risked a look down, and nearly laughed in surprise.  The younger one was obviously the prince, which made the short and fat one the king.

“I already told you, Aqua left.  She disappeared with that young man.”

 _That’s me, loser,_ Vanitas thought proudly.

“Yes, and how I wish I could wring his neck for it!”  The king’s face turned the color of a Red-Hot Chilli.

“Now, Father-”

“Don’t ‘ _now, Father’_ me!  It was completely - completely _indecent_ of him is what it was!  If it weren’t for him, you and that blue-haired girl would be wed by now!”

Vanitas’s earlier nausea returned at that.  How likely was it that the king would notice it if he threw up on his head?

“ _Father,”_ the prince said sternly, stopping in the middle of the hallway.  “I’ve had enough of this.  If you have run the kingdom on your own for so many years since Mother passed away, then I can handle it until I find the woman I desire to marry.  However long that may be.”

He spun and strode away, leaving the king gaping.

“Well - well.  No _wonder_ he can’t find a woman to marry, with a temper like that…!”

Vanitas suppressed a snicker until the king finally waddled off.

The prince could keep looking for a girl somewhere else.  Aqua was never going to be his.

XXX

“Terra?  Oh, please, let him be waking up…”

“Hey, I think he’s moving!  Terra!  Wake up!”

His eyes blinked open slowly, only to see Ven - still mouse-sized - standing on top of his chest.  

“Gah!”  Terra nearly tumbled off of the couch he was lying on.  Wait, how had he gotten on a couch?  Wasn’t he fighting off the Unversed?  “Ven!  What are you doing?”

He laughed but climbed off of Terra’s chest and onto the cushy armrest.  “Sorry!  I’m just glad you’re okay.  We were really worried.”

“I’m fine,” Terra replied, though he hissed when he tried to sit up.  The motion agitated several barely-clotted scabs that he couldn’t see but could feel criss-crossing his arms and legs.

“Don’t push yourself,” Cinderella said, leaning over him to wipe a spot of blood from his arm.  “Ven, dear, could you and Jaq bring me another washcloth?”

“Can do!”  The boy hopped down, followed by the red-shirted mouse.

Terra took the moment to look around, hazy though his vision still was.  They seemed to be in a lavish foyer with tile floors and columns supporting the ceiling.  Was this the inside of her house?  How had she gotten him in here?

“Ven was right, you know,” Cinderella said quietly.  Her washcloth was warm and wet, soothing the sting of his wounds.  “We were very worried about you.”

“I’m sorry.”  His face heated; she shouldn’t have to worry about him.  Yet here he was, bleeding all over her couch.  At least the upholstery was red.  

He coughed weakly and continued.  “I just knew if I didn’t stop them, no one else would. I couldn’t let them get to you.”

She sighed, wiping the side of his shirt, which was caked in either dirt or blood.  He hoped it was dirt.  “Ever the knight in shining armor, you are.  I’m grateful you were here, or else… well.  But I am the one who’s sorry, to have put you through this.”  She scrubbed a little harder, frowning at the stubborn dirt-or-blood, and he grimaced.  “That’s going to leave a stain.  There might be some old clothes of my father’s that you could borrow in the meantime.”

“Don’t worry about it, I’m fine,” he insisted.  His clothes might be stained and torn, but they would last until he could stop back at the Land of Departure.  Besides, he really didn’t want to be dressed up like the men at the ball had been.  Their pants had looked far too tight to be comfortable.  “Tell me though, what happened?  The last thing I remember is being outnumbered, and then…”

His eyes widened.  The darkness.  He’d used it again, hadn’t he?

“You collapsed,” Cinderella answered.  She gave up on the spot on his side, and moved on to his leg, which she had to carefully adjust to reach his bloodied calf.  Somehow she didn’t even flinch at the wound, just pushed up the bottom of his pant leg and started working.  “This might need stitches, I’m afraid.  It’s rather deep.”

He shook his head as much as he could while lying down.  “It’s nothing a couple Cure spells won’t fix.  As soon as I’m feeling strong enough to use magic again, anyway.”

She frowned at the cut but said, “Alright, if you say so.  In the meantime I’ll clean it as best I can.”

He nodded.  Though his pride still wanted to insist he was fine, her care was surprisingly effective.  The places she’d washed felt better already, as if her rag were dipped in a potion rather than water.  Maybe Ven had lent her a few of the healing items.  “What happened after that, though?”

“Oh.  Well, you had gotten rid of the rest of the monsters by then, so it was safe to bring you inside.  I didn’t want to leave you out there, in case they came back.”

“And your stepfamily?”  Terra could hardly mention them without wanting to punch something.  “They let you take me in?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say they _let_ me do anything.”  Her mouth pressed to a thin line.  “But, I pulled you inside, and they couldn’t do anything to stop me.”

“You - you brought me in all by yourself?”  His brow furrowed.  “Cinderella, I have to be twice your size.”

She laughed.  “Oh, it took me quite a while, but I managed.  Ven cast a spell to make you a little lighter, too.”

Zero Gravity, probably.  Terra smiled; he never would’ve thought of that.  Still, with Ven being the size of a mouse, his spell couldn’t have done that much.

“Well, thanks,” he said lamely, still embarrassed at the idea of Cinderella having to drag him the whole way through the dirt and then across the clean floors.  Which weren’t so clean now, he noticed.  “I’ll help you clean up after this.”

“No, I wouldn’t have you do that,” she replied.  She tore a strip of cloth from the bottom of her apron and gently wrapped it around the now-clean gash in his leg.  “You’ve already done so much by protecting us.  You just worry about resting, I can take care of everything else.”

He frowned but didn’t argue - at this point, he would only make a bigger mess if he tried to move.  Besides, he had more to worry about than either cleaning _or_ resting.

“How _did_ I finish off the Unversed?”  He asked, hoping that his foggy memory was somehow misleading him.

“I’m… not quite sure, exactly,” she said, tying a final knot in the bandage.  Then she moved back to his chest, hovering over him and humming thoughtfully.

“What did you see?”  He asked again.  He feared the answer, but he needed to know.  If he really had used the darkness again…

“Um… it all happened quite fast, but you used some kind of magic, I think.”

He swallowed, his throat going dry.  “Did it look… wrong, somehow?”

She stopped inspecting his wounds and met his eyes.  He wanted to shrink away from the concern there, but he forced himself to hold her gaze.  If he had frightened her, he needed to know that, too.

“Did it feel wrong, to you?”  She finally asked.

“Like you said, it happened too fast to be sure. But I was… angry,” he admitted.  “At Vanitas for making those monsters.  At your family for how they talked about you.  And… at myself.  For not being strong enough to protect you.”  He closed his eyes.  “It _was_ wrong.  I gave into the darkness again - that’s what happened.”

Guilt stung nearly as much as his cuts and bruises.  But, he realized, he couldn’t regret what he’d done.  That would mean regretting saving Cinderella’s life.

 _Darkness is evil… but I used it to destroy evil, to do something good._ He hadn’t thought that was possible.  According to the Master, it shouldn’t have been.   _But that’s what I did - I used darkness to protect light.  What does that make me?_

“I was frightened,” Cinderella said quietly, fingering the blood-crusted rag.  “I thought you were going to die, Terra.  I lost hope again, but you didn’t.  You saved all of us.  However you did it, I don’t think that’s wrong.”

“You - you don’t?”  Terra’s eyes opened, taking in her soft expression.  Light, she was beautiful.  It was a strange for that thought to intrude - when her hands were grimy with dirt and blood, her hair was spilling out from her loose ponytail, her clothes were torn from the battle and making his bandages - but it was true.  How had he missed that when he’d first met her?  It was in her blue eyes, in her smile, which she turned on him now.

“I don’t,” she repeated.  She reached out a hand, slowly, hesitantly, and placed it over the left side of his chest.  “You have a good heart, Terra.  Whatever it is you’re fighting inside, I know you _are_ strong enough.”

 _How can you know that?_ When it came down to it, she still barely knew him.  She’d only seen the good, not the fear and anger he’d felt so often lately.  Except he didn’t feel angry or afraid right now.  He just felt… warm.

That was when he saw the light emanating from her hand, the one over his heart.

“What?”  His fingers overlapped hers, as if he could touch the light, hold onto it.  “Cinderella - what are you doing?”

“It’s not me,” she said, pulling back in confusion, but his hand tightened around hers.  

“I think it is,” he replied.  He could feel the energy seeping into him, warming him, like a blanket he could wear from the inside.

“You’re the one who can use magic.  How could I be doing this?”

“That’s what I tried to tell you before, Cinderella.  There’s a special light inside of you.  Your heart is free of darkness - that makes you a Princess of Heart.”

“Me?”  She frowned.  “A princess?  Terra, I think you might need more time to rest than I thought.”

“No, I mean it.  That’s why the Unversed attacked, why Vanitas will try to get to you.  There’s only seven Princesses in all the worlds, and - well, I didn’t know exactly what they can do, but I guess sharing light is one thing.”

She was silent for a long moment.  He could feel her hand tense under his.  Finally, she said, “Well, if I suddenly have a Fairy Godmother, and you have a magical flying machine, I suppose being some kind of Princess is the least surprising thing to happen to me.  And did you say… _worlds_?”

Terra bit his tongue.  He could lie, but he felt her light would see right through him.  

“Uh… yeah,” he said anticlimactically.  Master Eraqus was going to have him scrubbing floors for weeks for this.

“Is that where you’re really from, then?  Another world?”

He closed his eyes, wishing he could take back his words.  She really _was_ going to find out everything about him at this rate.  “You know those rules I told you about?  One of them’s that I’m not supposed to talk about that.”

“Oh.  I’m so sorry, I had no idea - am I going to cause trouble for you?”

“Well… not if you don’t tell anyone.”  He would still have to report this to the Master, but he doubted there was any way she could disturb the world order.  Maybe he’d only have to scrub floors for _one_ week.  He shouldn’t complain; it would still be less trouble than she went through on daily basis.

“I won’t.  I promise.”  

He opened his eyes and saw her smiling again.  “Thanks.”

“Well, don’t thank me just yet.  I’m still not done cleaning you up.”  She pursed her lips, and her cheeks reddened.  “I’m afraid you might need to remove your shirt for me to properly wash some of your cuts.”

“Huh?  Oh - uh…”  He was sure his face turned red too.  He let go of her hand, and she quickly pulled it back to her side. “Don’t worry about it.  I think I can cast Cure again now.”

“Oh.  That’s good, then.”  She coughed.  “I wonder what’s taking Jaq and Ven so long.  I could really use a clean washcloth…”

He shrugged, then quietly said, “Heal.”  The comfortable green glow surrounded him, closing up cuts and lightening bruises.  Though it wiped away his physical pain, the feeling still paled in comparison to whatever she’d done with her light.

“Oh,” Cinderella gasped, then sighed in relief.  “That’s quite a useful spell.  I suppose you didn’t need my help after all.”

“No, I did.  Trust me.”  He smiled.  “If it weren’t for you-”

“ _Cinderella!”_ A nasally voice called, cutting him off.  Stomping echoed from the staircase he could just barely see through the doorway.  “Mother says you’ve wasted enough time with that boy!  It’s time you cleaned up around here!”

Terra gritted his teeth, but Cinderella just rolled her eyes.  “Just a moment, Anastasia.”

“Don’t talk to me like that!  Mother, she can’t talk to me like that!”  Anastasia appeared in the doorway, hands on her hips.  Then, to Terra’s annoyance, she was joined by the other stepsister - Drizella, Cinderella had said.  And last but not least, the stepmother herself.

“Quiet, Anastasia,” Cinderella’s stepmother said calmly.

“But-!”

She held up her hand in warning.  “I will deal with this.”

“Hmph…” Anastasia crossed her arms.  Drizella peered out from behind her, and a curious expression replaced the sneer on her face.

Cinderella swallowed nervously.  Terra wanted to reach for her hand again, but decided that might not be the best idea.  To her family, he was just a blacksmith’s apprentice.  He wondered why she’d picked that as a cover story for him, of all things.  But they’d seen him fight.  Would they even believe that anymore?

“I believe,” the older woman stepped closer and said, “that someone has been telling lies.”

Terra swallowed.  Apparently they wouldn’t.  

“Stepmother, I can explain-” Cinderella began.

“Silence!”  She barked.  “The blacksmith currently has no apprentice.  I know this because I spoke with him at the ball three nights ago.”

“I - he - he was only trying to-”

“What did I say, _child_?”  Her stepmother sneered.  Terra felt a similar expression form on his own face.

“Don’t talk to her like that!”

She blinked slowly, as if surprised that he would speak, and then scowled again.  “You would invade my own home, destroy my lawn and gardens, and then speak to me this way?”

Terra sat up; his energy had returned, whether from the Cure or from his anger, he didn’t know.  “Look, I was the one who _kept_ your home from being destroyed!”

“Terra-” Cinderella began nervously, but her stepmother raised her hand again.

“Regardless of what you have done, you are corrupting my stepdaughter.  Her duties are to our family, not to brawling peasants.”

“ _Peasants-!_ ”  He growled, but she kept talking as if he’d been silent.

“If you are capable of such insolent speech, then you are clearly well enough to return home.  You will do so, and you will not speak to Cinderella again.”

“But Stepmother, you can’t!”  Cinderella threw an arm out to the side, as if to protect him.  “He’s still hurt!  And I...”

This time, Terra did squeeze her hand.  Then he rose and stood at her side, still looking like death warmed over, but holding his head high.  Drizella and Anastasia flinched back a little, then stuck their noses in the air as if to cover it.

“What if I don’t like that plan?”  Terra said.

Cinderella’s stepmother turned a steely glare on him.  He imagined her looking at Cinderella like that, bending her to her will, and the anger kindled inside him.

“You will not have a say in it.  Cinderella is far too busy to entertain your company.”  She turned her cool gaze on her stepdaughter.  “Come, now.  Let us show him out.”

“...Yes, Stepmother,” she replied quietly, a tear trailing down her cheek.  Her small, callused hand was cold in his.

“But, Cinderella…” Terra swallowed what he was going to say: _you can’t let them treat you like that.  You don’t have to let them._ Did she?  When it came down to it, they were the only family she had.  They may be cruel and horrible, but where else could she go?  Who else could care for her?

 _I could,_ he thought even as they led him to the door.   _I could take her with me.  She’s a Princess of Heart, and she’s in danger here._

But the words stuck in his throat.  What if she didn’t want to go with him?  Sure, she’d wished to see other kingdoms, but other worlds - that was something else.  And what would the Master say?  Would he demand he take her back, back to this home that looked more like a prison?

They arrived at the door, somber as a funeral procession arriving at a grave.  His only small comfort was that she still hadn’t let go of his hand.

“Say goodbye, Cinderella,” her stepmother commanded.  Terra gave her the fiercest glare he had, for all the good it would do either of them.  Everything about this was wrong.  He may not be a real knight in shining armor, but he should have been able to protect her.  He shouldn’t be abandoning her here, to these people who didn’t care if she lived or died.  There _had_ to be something he could do, if only he had longer to think of what it could be.

But he didn’t have time.  Sparkling tears dripped down Cinderella’s face.  She turned to Terra, took a deep breath, and…

Smiled?

“Goodbye, Stepmother.”

 _“What?”_ Drizella shouted.  “What do you think you’re-!”

“Goodbye, Drizella.  Goodbye, Anastasia.”  Cinderella pulled open the large front door.

“She can’t really be-!”

“Oh, but I can,” She said firmly, the confidence in her voice increasing with every word.  “I have been thinking about this for some time now.  I am old enough to take care of myself.  I think I shall do a better job of it than you have.”

“Who does she think she-!”  Drizella tugged on her mother’s dress.

“Mother, you can’t let her-!”

Her stepmother cleared her throat, and the protests went silent. “Surely I misheard.  Surely you aren’t so deluded as to think _you_ could make your way in the world on your own, without my support.”

Cinderella stood straighter.

“I believe I can.”  

“And she won’t be alone,” Terra said, squeezing her hand.  Her smile grew wider.

“So, a scullery maid and a lying peasant.  We’ll see how long your fairy tale will last.”  The woman gave a thin smile.  “When you wake up from this delusion, you know where to find us.”

Anastasia gaped.  “Mother, you’re not really-!”

“She can’t leave!”

“Who’s going to do our laundry?”

“And our dishes!”

“Mother!”

Terra heard the aghast shouts as he followed Cinderella out the door, and even after it shut behind them.  She didn’t stop on the porch, or in the charred debris of the lawn.  She walked stiffly, clinging to his hand the whole time, until she finally collapsed to her knees in the remnants of the pumpkin patch.

“Cinderella!”  Terra knelt beside her.  “Are you alright?”

She began to cry again, breath coming in soft little gasps.  “Yes, Terra - I’m fine - I _will_ be.  Oh, I’m so sorry you had to be there for that.  But I - I had to.  I’m so tired of just dreaming…” Her gasps then broke down into full-on sobs.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said, rubbing her back.  He thought back to the first time they met, when he hadn’t known how to comfort her.  He still didn’t, but he would try anyway.  “That was really brave, Cinderella.”

She smiled a little through her tears.  “I suppose it was, wasn’t it?  I’d just been thinking about what you said.  That they shouldn’t treat me the way they do.  It had just been so long since anyone - since anyone treated me the way _you_ do… it made me believe that things really can be better.”  She stopped to sniffle, then composed herself enough to keep going.

“And you believed in me, too.  You believed I was strong enough.  If it weren’t for you, I don’t know that I would have ever had the courage to do this.  I just can’t believe I really… I didn’t expect to leave so soon…”

“You don’t have anything packed, do you?” Terra realized.  “And what about your friends, the mice?”

“Well, actually…” She wiped her eyes, then stood.  He followed her around the side of the manor, where a horse knickered inside a small stable.  Tucked in the corner, half-buried under a pile of hay, lay a small bundle wrapped in canvas.  She dug it out and dusted it off.  “I didn’t expect to do this so soon, but I wanted to be prepared. Just in case… well.  I packed a few spare dresses and things a few days ago.”

“You really have thought about this.”

“I’ve thought about this forever, actually.”  She smiled.  “It’s only recently that I believed I could do it.”

 _“_ There really is power in believing,” he said to himself, as she turned and patted the horse on the nose, telling him goodbye.  “What are you going to do now?  Is there somewhere you planned to go?”

“Well… I didn’t have all the details yet.  But there are a few tailoring shops in town; I’m sure that one of them could use an extra seamstress.  And if that falls through, I am more than qualified to be a maid.  Perhaps I could even work at the castle.”  She chuckled.

“And you’re not scared at all?  I mean, this can’t be easy, leaving everything you know...” He realized too late that those probably weren’t the comforting words she needed to hear right now.

“Oh, I’m terrified.”  She laughed.  “But I imagine it would be terrifying no matter when I decided to do it.  This time, I won’t let fear stop me.”  She hoisted the bundle of clothes up in her arms.  “I will worry about the animals here, though.  I know the mice and birds can follow me, but Bruno and the others… I hope my stepfamily will take care of them.”

“Who knows?  Maybe they’ll decide to run away too.  Here, let me carry that for you.”  They shared a smile, and she handed over the lump of clothes.  “I’ll D-Link with Ven, and he can lead the mice out of there.  In the meantime, you don’t have a place to stay yet.  You can use the room I rented at the inn; I’ll camp outside tonight.”

“Oh, Terra, you really don’t have to…”

“I want to,” he assured her.  “If I had to guess, you probably don’t have a lot of munny to spare right now.”

“Well… no.”  She blushed.  “I have a few coins I’ve saved though, change from shopping in the market.  I can get by for a couple of days until I find a place to work.”

“Would you let me look after you, just until then?”  He asked.  “I have to stick around and find Vanitas, anyway, and I still think he might come after you again.”

Her brow furrowed.  “Maybe he won’t be able to find me, since we’re leaving.”

“Maybe,” he said, though he wasn’t convinced.  If Vanitas could sense light, there was probably nowhere she could really hide.

“I just wish I didn’t have to put you in danger again.  I would still feel better if you rested for a little longer.”

“Trust me, I’ll be fine.  I’m the last guy you need to worry about.”  He grinned.  It was a pretty funny thought, her worrying about putting _him_ in danger.  He tucked her clothes under one arm, then held the other out for her to take.

“Shall we go now, Princess Cinderella?”

Her cheeks glowed pink as she laughed.  She linked her arm with his.

“Yes, Knight Terra.  I think we shall.”

The grin stayed on Terra’s face as they headed towards town. For the first time since leaving the Land of Departure, he felt like he had done something completely right.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter, it was one I was looking forward to for a while! I’m going to try and go back to updating ASAS next, I’ll be sad to leave this was alone for a bit.


	9. Gambling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, I lied.  Here’s another chapter of this, then (hopefully) I’ll get to the end of ASAS.  I just needed to get this down before I forgot a lot of the things I had planned.

Aqua awoke near midnight to the sound of Unversed materializing.  Adrenaline snapped her into full consciousness; her keyblade flashed to her hand before she processed exactly what the noise was.  Once she did, she only gripped it tighter.

_This is it.  He’s decided to stop this game and just kill me._ Well, she wasn’t going down without a fight.  She stood as tall as her Unversed cage allowed and took up her battle stance.

Only… if he was going to send Unversed after her, why wouldn’t he just use the Cursed Coach?  The cage-shaped monster expanded and contracted gently, as if in unconscious breathing.  

Cautiously, she poked her head out one of the windows.  To her surprise, Void was still asleep - at least, there was a Void-shaped lump under the mass of dusty blankets.  That could easily be a part of the trap, though.

Then she caught sight of the Unversed.  A single Flood wandered around the room, diving in and out of the carpeted floor.

“Mmmfffp...” Void rolled over, and part of his helmet peeked out from under the covers.  Then he went still again, save for the slight rise and fall of his chest.  So it wasn’t a trap, it seemed… but then what were those Floods doing?

The Flood popped out of the ground right in front of her cage.  She took a step back, but it had already made eye contact.

The creature leapt up towards the barred window, squirmed through, and tumbled into her cage.  Her hand tightened around her keyblade, but she didn’t attack just yet.  It could still be some kind of trap, if one she didn’t understand.  Why would Void pretend to be asleep, then just send one small Unversed after her?

The Flood’s head twitched to the side.  It looked at her keyblade, almost like it was… curious.  But that was ridiculous; it was just a monster.  It didn’t have emotions. Right?

_“They’re made of what I feel,”_ Void had said.  Did that mean they could feel too?  The thought made her uncomfortable.

“Stay back,” she whispered to the Flood, baring her blade warningly.  It skittered back to the wall and plopped down.  She stared at its glowing red eyes.  She’d talked to it out of instinct; she hadn’t actually expected the monster to listen.

Out the window, Void still seemed to be asleep - though she thought she heard muttering.  He _could_ be controlling the Unversed, but it didn’t seem likely.

The Flood curled up like a cat, its arrowhead face lying over its feet.  Its red eyes closed - she hadn’t known they could do that.  It looked like… like it wanted to go to sleep too.

_This is all some very elaborate trick… or Void just created Unversed out of his sleepiness._

Tentatively, and with her weapon still bared, she approached the resting Flood.  She wasn’t sure what she hoped to learn, but she didn’t feel comfortable going back to sleep herself until the Unversed was gone.

Her silent steps didn’t wake it.  She was able to get close, closer than was comfortable, but still it slept, its small body inflating and deflating with mimicked breath. It almost looked… innocent, sleeping like that.  Like a calm pet.  She wasn’t naive enough to actually believe that.  Still, when she raised her blade to strike it down, she hesitated.  The creature hadn’t hurt her, and destroying it would surely wake Void.

She had an idea inspired by the time she had found a rat inside the castle in the Land of Departure.  Terra had said they should poison it, but Aqua had managed to catch and release the animal in a harmless homemade trap.  The Flood didn’t have a natural habitat to return to, but she could at least move it out of her prison.

She didn’t release her keyblade, but she used her other arm to carefully scoop up the sleeping Unversed.  Its eyes didn’t open.  That was a good start.  Now, if she could just dump it out the window -

The Flood squirmed, startling her into dropping it too soon.  Its eyes slowly blinked open, and it shook its head.  But for some reason, it still didn’t attack.  It just sat there and stared.

“You’re not very smart, are you?” Aqua whispered.  She couldn’t help it; she smiled a little.  When the creature wasn’t attacking, it was almost cute.  “Or maybe I’m the one who isn’t very smart…”

She was just imagining any friendly traits in this monster.  It was because she hadn’t spoken with anyone but Void in the past three days, most likely.  

Still, she sat down and observed the Flood.  It slid a little closer, but eyed her keyblade warily.

“You know what this can do, don’t you.” After thinking through the worst-case scenario - that the Flood could jump in her face and attack, which she could always heal with a Cure or two - she banished her keyblade.

The Flood recoiled at the flash of light.  Then it dove into the floor of the Cursed Coach and resurfaced right in front of her.

Aqua bit back a yelp, but couldn’t scoot back in time to keep the Flood from leaping into her lap.  She readied a Fire spell - if she woke Void, so be it; she wasn’t going to let the monster hurt her if she could help it.  The flames grew in her palm -

And flickered out. The Flood was already asleep again, snuggled up against her.

“...Void, you have some explaining to do.”

XXX

“So, what do you have on the agenda today?”  Aqua asked after Void emerged from the bathroom the next morning.  The little Flood stopped batting around her crumpled papers and went still; it had done the same thing when Void had first woken up, like it didn’t want its master to notice it.  “Terrorizing the worlds?  Burning down buildings?  Kicking puppies?”

“None of the above,” Void answered in a tone that was less grumpy than usual.  He had seemed in an oddly good mood the previous day, too, at least after all the craziness with borrowing her keyblade had passed.  She wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.  “I’ve got time to kill, so I get to stick around today.”

_Wonderful._ Aqua stifled a sigh.  She’d planned to attempt an escape today, call his bluff on having Vanitas.  He had never brought back a letter the previous day.  Even if she was wrong and he actually did have Vanitas, escaping would still be the quickest way to find out.  

_Think positive,_ she told herself.   _“There’s no trial so dark that you cannot keep a still heart,”_ the Master had always said.  She would do just that; Void didn’t need to know that this isolation was getting to her.  Maybe she’d even try to be cheerful - that would throw him for a loop.

“That sounds great,” she said with a grin.  Terra or Ven would have seen right through it, but hopefully it looked real enough to Void.  “You have time to deliver my letter, then.”

Void ignored her, as he often did in the brief times he was around.  “Do you want breakfast?”

“Can you hear through that helmet?”  She asked, already failing to keep the irritation out of her voice.  So much for her Master’s teachings.  “I told you what I wanted.  Give Vanitas my letter.”

She wondered if Void had read the one she’d written for him.  Maybe threatening him hadn’t been the best way to get what she wanted.

“Alright,” Void finally said.  Aqua blinked.  No more argument, just a calm reply.  “On one condition.”

Of course.  “What?  Are you going to steal my light again?”

He snorted.  “Don’t tempt me.”

“I thought that was why you wanted me,” she went on.  “Why else are you keeping me here?”  He hadn’t done that awful trick since the first day, not that she was complaining.  It just didn’t make sense.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said, surprising her.  It wasn’t a real answer, but it was still more than she’d expected.  “For now though, I just want to see your board game.”

“Command Board? Why?” Her brow furrowed.  She had been playing it to pass the time and to try and level up her commands, since she couldn’t physically train much at the moment.

“Maybe I just like board games.”  There was a hint of sarcasm in that.

“Fine.”  She shrugged.  “Deliver my letter and let Vanitas write me one in return, and then we can play.”

That idea sounded ridiculous when she said it out loud, but he nodded.  “Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone.”

He disappeared, and the timid Flood rustled her papers as it slunk out from the corner.  It darted around her legs before hopping up to the window and peering out.

“You can go out there, you know,” she told it.  “You’re not trapped in here.”

Technically she wasn’t either, not entirely.  Last night Void had explained that she could knock on the Cursed Coach three times, and it would open its mouth to let her walk to the bathroom.  If she tried to go the opposite direction though, towards the other door or the window, the Unversed would attack and Void would come for her.

But, it was still more freedom than she’d had previously.  And she didn’t have to suffer through his horrible portals.  Even if he had only moved her so he wouldn’t have to walk her to the bathroom each time, she could appreciate it.  The feeling of him waiting on her had been almost as disconcerting as those portals themselves.

She knocked thrice, and the wide barred maw slowly opened.  The Flood darted out, and she chuckled and followed behind.

Sure enough, the large Unversed didn’t attack.  She got her first clear image of it from the outside - it was shaped not like a regular carriage, but like a giant _pumpkin._ Thorny tendrils snaked out from its sides, and curled vines formed its wheels.  Its middle window curved back into an eerie grin.  This, at least, was an Unversed she could never find cute.

She tried to ignore the sensation of it watching her as she entered the bathroom, shutting the door before the Flood could slip through too.  Then she sighed deeply and leaned against the side of the porcelain tub.

Free.  Free from the stifling confines of her cage, free from the nauseating sensation of darkness, which her stomach had finally almost adjusted to.  She would wash her clothes, dry them with a weak mix of Fire and Aero.  She would soak in the bathtub without worrying that Void would walk in on her.  Maybe she would even close her eyes and sing while she was at it, like she would back home.

She would do all that… in a moment.  Right now she just breathed.  Breathed, and let a few silent tears drip down her face.

Then she stood up straight and looked herself in the mirror.  

“I’m going to get out of here,” she told her reflection. “I’m a Keyblade Master.  Ven and Terra need me.  Vanitas needs me.”

She wouldn’t fail them.  She couldn’t fail them.

So she put on a brave face and got ready to face the day.

XXX

“Sheesh, if these people are so rich, why can’t they afford ballpoints?”  Vanitas shook the stolen bottle of ink and set it down on the wooden crate.  “Or at least pencils.  Writing’s stupid enough without having to use a freaking _feather_.”

He grumbled to himself as he spread out Aqua’s letter, smoothing out the creases.  He didn’t really need it out in order to write his reply - he’d memorized its contents after about the thirteenth time reading it.  What he needed it for was her handwriting.  The tight, elegant script was flawless.  He knew he couldn’t hope to match it, but it could at least help him remember how to form legible letters.

He shrugged and cracked his neck before muttering, “Well, here goes nothing.”

He dipped the tip of the feather in the black ink, hovered it over the paper, and began to write.

_Aqua,_

_…_

_…_

He cursed.  Not on the paper, just in his head.  What was he supposed to say?  It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about it.  He’d probably thought _too_ much about it - the ideas had invaded his dreams last night, distorted and foolish.  In most of them, he had told her the truth; it was her reactions that varied.  

Killing him.  Kidnapping him, trapping him inside his own Unversed.  Torturing him with Thundaga, like Master Xehanort.

Forgiving him.  Holding him tight, like she had that night he could never forget.  Helping him forge the X-Blade.

Foolish.

He crossed a giant, bleeding _X_ across the page, crumpled it in his fist, and tossed it across the length of the storage room.

_Focus,_ he thought, suppressing a pair of Scrappers itching to burst out. _It’s just a stupid letter.  I can do this._

He took a clean sheet from the box he’d found.

_Agua,_

He scowled.  One word in, and he’d already misspelled her name.  He wadded that page up too and hurled it as far as he could.  In that moment he’d let his guard down, and a Scrapper did sneak out.

“Behave,” he ordered without bothering to look at it as he slammed down another page.

_Aqua,_

_…_

“Come on, this shouldn’t be so hard,” he said out loud.  “I _am_ Vanitas.”  

It should be easy.  He was just pretending to be himself.  What would he say if he actually was a regular, hopeless person?  He sat there, thinking, then dunked his feather in the ink and began to write again.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, three more false-starts, and an awful hand cramp, he had a passable letter.  Passable, and just a little bit concerning - it was hard to tell where his lies ended and the truth began.  But it felt… right.  Kind of like when he released an Unversed, he felt a little lighter after scribbling out the words.

He blew on the paper to dry the splotchy ink, then folded it into a square.  His Scrapper climbed up onto the crate and stared at it, as if to ask, _Are you really going to tell her all that?_

“I’m not telling her.   _Vanitas_ is.  Now come on, I think I smell some croissants with our names on them.”

XXX

Vanitas entered the room holding both his letter and a fresh croissant in the air.

“One letter and one hot breakfast, no extra charge,” he announced in his Void voice, the one with a hint of a growl and a double dose of his usual arrogance.  He expected a snappy reply, but there was none.  “Aqua?”

Before he had time to panic, he heard the water running in the bathroom.  Right, he’d given her permission to use it while he was gone.  It didn’t have any windows; he doubted she could escape through there.

“Hm.  Croissant’s gonna get cold.”  He plopped down on the bed, thinking about eating it if she didn’t come out soon.  She would probably refuse it, anyway.  She was stubborn like that.  It couldn’t be healthy for her, though, just living off whatever she’d been able to fit in her pockets for four days.  It would be stupid if he went through all this trouble of keeping her safe, just to have her starve to death.

He was lying back on the bed, swinging his legs off the side, when a faint noise caught his attention.  He would know that noise anywhere - it was the sound his Floods made when they leapt out of the ground.  But he hadn’t created any Floods today.

He sat up and saw the small Unversed hovering by the bathroom door.

“Hey, get away from there.”  He summoned his keyblade and swatted it back.  “Aqua’s probably taking a bath.  She’ll kill us both if you go in there.”

The Flood scampered back, but it tilted its head and twitched an antenna, as if to say, _Okay, but_ listen.

“Listen to what?”

But then Vanitas heard it - the thick wooden door muffled the sound, but Aqua was definitely singing.  He suspected he could only hear her at all because she was belting out the words.

_“...in a kingdom of thieves, and people who say, things they don’t really mean, really mean…”_

Vanitas took a step back, the lyrics echoing in his head.  Something about those words…

_“You’re only everything I ever dreamed, ever dreamed of, ever dreamed of…”_

He clutched the front of his helmet.  It didn’t help; his head still throbbed with the ache of the missing memory.

_“You must be kidding me, did you really think, I could say no…?”_

He growled, frightening the Flood into the floor.  What was that song?  More importantly, why did it feel so important to remember?

“ _I want you for a lifetime - but if you’re gonna think twice, baby - I don’t wanna know…”_

He stood straight, as if shot with Thunder.  A piece of his memory linked into place.

“Don’t Think Twice,” he whispered, backing away from the door.  How could she know that song?  It had come from a world farther away than she’d ever traveled.  He knew because it was the world where he - where Ventus - had been born.

Twilight Town.

He squeezed his eyes shut against the happy memories that threatened to overpower him.  His dad had sung that song to his mom all the time.  Vanitas wondered if he still sung it now.  If they were still just as happy without their precious Ventus.

_“I don’t wanna know, baby… I don’t wanna know…”_

Vanitas tossed the croissant through a window of the Cursed Coach, which bounced a little in surprise.  Then, eyes stinging, he opened a dark corridor and practically threw himself through it.  

All these sudden emotions would make for some dangerous Unversed.

XXX

Aqua emerged from the bathroom, feeling clean and refreshed.  The warm water and unrestrained singing had pulled her out of the dark cycle of her thoughts.  She felt ready to take on the world.

The Flood from before darted up to her and butted its head against her leg.  She jumped at first, but then laughed.

“Still sticking around, huh?”  She asked the strange Unversed.  Of course, it didn’t reply.  The Cursed Coach did wave its vines threateningly, however.  Back to her cage, then.  Her dark mood tried to rise up again, but she took a deep breath and let it go.   _Keep a still heart.  Cage or no cage, I will make the most of this._

She was startled to notice a croissant lying among the papers she still hadn’t bothered to tidy up.  Had Void left it here while she was bathing?  The thought of him hanging around while she was singing out loud unnerved her.  Maybe it had unnerved him too, considering he wasn’t here anymore.

Well, at least he hadn’t walked in on her, or yelled at her to shut up.  Small blessings.  

As was the discarded croissant.  She picked it up, dusted it off, and took a tentative bite.  Her mouth watered at the taste of something that wasn’t jerky or stale granola.  It melted into buttery flakes on her tongue, and she hastily ate the rest of it.  If that was one extra point to Void, well, at least he wasn’t here to see it.

“Finally,” his low voice called a second after she heard his portal open.  “I thought you might starve to death just to spite me.”

Alright, so apparently he _was_ here to see it.  

“Don’t flatter yourself,” she told him after she swallowed.  “Do you have my letter?”

She was expecting him to come up with another weak excuse, but he actually held up a folded sheet of paper.  

“Vanitas sends his regards.”  He flicked the letter towards her like a throwing star.  She caught it with a thoughtful frown - she had been ready to call his bluff this time. There was still the possibility that Void had forged it, but she wouldn’t bet on that until she read it.

“...Thank you,” she said, more out of habit than feeling.  Though her fingers itched to open the letter right then, she placed it in a pocket of the cloth wrapped around her waist.

“Tch.  You spend all this time begging me to get that to you, and you’re not even going to read it?”

“I will.  You said you wanted to play Command Board, though.”  The true reason was that she didn’t want to read it with Void watching… and, honestly, now that she had it, she was afraid of what Vanitas might have written.  He had every right to be upset with her, considering how awful of a situation she had gotten them into.

“That’s right.”  He snapped his fingers, and the Cursed Coach’s mouth opened.  The Flood from earlier hid in the floor while Aqua stared out hesitantly.  “Come on.  I’m not going to squish in there with you.”

There would have been plenty of room in the Coach, technically.  Not that she wanted to be closer to him than she had to, but she found it suspicious that he would let her out just to play a board game.  Maybe he was getting arrogant.  If so, that would make escaping easier.

Regardless, a few more minutes outside of her cage would be welcome.  She carefully stepped down and followed Void’s lead in sitting down on the musty carpet.

_This is strange, even for me,_ she thought, briefly making eye contact with her reflection in Void’s helmet.  Then she unfolded the Command Board and laid it out between them.  At the tap of her fingers, the small illusions of herself, Terra, and Ven came to life.  She could have sworn Void jumped at that.  Quickly, she reconfigured it to take out the NPCs, and added an illusion of Void instead.  It would have been wrong to let him control the avatar of one of her friends.

“Alright.”  She cleared her throat.  “Here’s how you play…”

XXX

_“Piece of cake!”_

Vanitas actually growled this time, clenching his fist and barely stopping himself from slamming it down on Aqua’s gloating avatar.  His own small illusion had his arms crossed and was kicking at the ground with his boot.

“You aren’t a very graceful loser,” Aqua noted with a bit of a smirk.

“That’s because I don’t lose.”

“I think the last four games would beg to differ.”  Yes, she was definitely smirking now.  She collected the commands she’d won - some of which had been his own commands that she had paid GP to take over.  Just Fire, Thunder, and Sleep this time - he’d learned his lesson after the first round, when he’d lost Dark Thundaga, Triple Firaga, and Illusion Strike.  She’d neglected to tell him before starting that any commands he laid down had the possibility of being stolen, and they would become keyed to her command deck instead, so he couldn’t simply steal them back.

“Set it up again,” he said, collecting back his leveled-up commands and the single new one he’d won, a lousy Blizzard.  Aqua hadn’t been foolish enough to lay down any powerful commands even in the beginning, so his total winnings consisted of that Blizzard and an Aero from earlier.  He hoped that maybe if he stole enough of her commands, she’d eventually have to use the good ones.  But that required him to actually _win_ for once.  The only victory Vanitas had, if it counted as one, was that he’d learned she couldn’t use the board game as a communication device.

“Are you sure?” She asked.  “You can always quit before you get even farther behind.”

And let her hold it over him forever?  “I don’t think so.”

She shrugged.  “Suit yourself.”  She tapped the board a few times, resetting the illusions to the keyhole-shaped square, then shuffled up her commands.  “Speaking of suits, what’s with that costume?”

“What?”  He glanced down at himself and frowned.  That was the boldest comment she’d made to him so far.  All this winning was making her cocky.

She nodded towards him, already rolling the die.  It landed with six dots facing up.   _Figures._

“That suit you always wear.  Are there Moogles that sell tacky villain clothing with skirts?”

“Wha- you- it’s not a _skirt_!”  His voice cracked pathetically.  At least she couldn’t see the heat in his face.

“What is it then?”  She asked with mock interest.  He snatched the die and rolled, not paying attention to which path he directed his avatar.

“...It’s a waist cape,” he replied.  He vaguely heard his illusion groan when he landed on a square that stole his GP.

Aqua just stared, a look of confusion frozen on her face.  

Then she burst out laughing.  

“You - you’re not serious,” she gasped out through the shaking laughter.  The smell of light was spilling off of her now, stronger than it had been since that first evening he’d spent with her.  He’d had time to acclimate though; it only made him a little dizzy this time.

“Of course I’m serious!  Skirts are for girls!”

That just threw her into another fit of laughter.  Red Hot Chilis of embarrassment wanted to burst out, and he just about let them.  The only thing that stopped him was that he didn’t want to catch the Command Board on fire - at least not until he beat her.

“You might want to consider an outfit change, then,” she got out.  “Or does your boss make you wear that?”

“Xehanort can’t _make_ me do anything.  I can change any time I want.”  He crossed his arms.

Her laughter choked off as surely as if he’d wrapped his fingers around her neck.  The commands slipped out of her hands.  One landed on the board, fuzzing through her avatar.

“What - what did you say?”

“I can change any time I want,” he repeated.  Why did she look so pale?  “I just happen to like my waist-cape.”

“Forget the skirt - waist-cape, whatever.”  She shook her head.  “What does Xehanort have to do with this?”

_Xehanort?  How does she-!_ Every curse that Vanitas knew flashed through his head.  How in the Void had he let that slip?  He had let her get under his skin, catch him off guard - but it didn’t matter now.  It was too late to take back his words; all he could do was attempt damage control.

“Nothing,” he lied.  “I told you.  I’m the only one you need to worry about.”

She stood, making the Cursed Coach wave its vines in warning.

“No,” she breathed, eyes still wide.  “You come and go.  You complain about the difficult jobs you’ve had to do - you’re not the one making the rules.  But - Master _Xehanort?”_

He stood too, hand itching for his weapon, not that it would help.   _Unless I just kill her.  This whole plan was a long shot.  Stupid, stupid!_

No, no.   _Calm down.  I can’t throw away my whole plan now.  I still need her._

“I have to tell Terra,” she said, more to herself than to him.  “I have to get out of here.”

He pressed down the rising Archravens of fear.

“Do that, and he’ll just kill you,” he warned.

She frowned at that, then put on a look of resolve.  “No, he won’t.  He must need me, or else you wouldn’t have taken me here.”

Vanitas laughed.  He couldn’t help it - she had no idea.  And he was going to have to gamble on that.  He could only hope that his luck paid off more here than it had in Command Board.

“Aqua, you are the _last_ thing Xehanort needs.  Trust me on that one.  If you leave here, it will be the end of both you _and_ Vanitas.”

“Like I would trust anything you say!”  She held her hand out to the side and summoned her keyblade.  Vanitas gritted his teeth, but called forth Void Gear too.

“ _Don’t_ trust me, then.  But ask yourself: is this a risk you’d take, even if your lives are on the line?”

She hesitated.  It was enough time for the Cursed Coach to scoop her up in its vines and toss her back into its maw.  She cried out as it started to chomp down on her, but Vanitas reached out and calmed the Unversed.

“I guess we’ll have to have our rematch later,” he said.  It was too bad.  As much as he hated losing, exchanging banter with Aqua had been entertaining.  Plus, it was the closest to a civil conversation he’d had with her as Void.

“Or never,” she spat back.  “I don’t care what you say.  Terra and Ven and Vanitas need me, and I _will_ find a way to help them.”

Vanitas rolled his eyes, not that she would see.   _You want to help me?  Stop trying to get out of here._

“Personally, I think it’s about time Terra and Ventus learned to solve their own problems for once.  Like Terra?  Right now, he’s on the verge of falling into darkness.  Even if you were there, there would be nothing you could do about it.”

“No,” she gasped, then gave her fiercest glare.  “Terra would never give in to the darkness!  He’s stronger than that!”

He’d hoped that news about Terra would chip away at her confidence, but instead it apparently fueled her resolve.  This whole intimidating thing was more difficult than he’d expected.  Or else, Aqua was just stronger than he’d expected.  He could respect that.

“We’ll see,” he replied cryptically as he folded up the Command Board and tossed it inside her cage.  Aqua rose to her knees.

“I’m sick of your mind games!  What is it you want with me and Terra!?”

Her voice stayed steady; her glare still bored through him.  But he noticed, only briefly, a tear running down her cheek.  A Flood peeled itself from him at the realization - he choked it until its life flowed back into him.  Along with the guilt he shouldn’t be feeling.

He turned his back so he wouldn’t have to face her.  

“I don’t want anything with Terra,” he answered honestly.  “As for you… I’m still figuring that out.”

_Let her decide what to make of that,_ he thought.  

_I’m getting tired of playing mind games too._

XXX

After Void left again - to where she didn’t know - Aqua released her frustrations by running through as much of her training regiment as she could.  Crunches.  Push-ups.  Punches.  Not kicks; there wasn’t quite that much room.  The little Flood from before hovered around her, flinching sometimes when she would shout.

“This - is so - _hopeless!”_ She yelled in time with each push-up.  Finally, after having reached fifty, she let herself collapse.  “I can’t just sit here while my friends are in danger…”

But what else could she do?  Playing Command Board with Void had shown her a disheartening truth - his commands were far more powerful than hers.  Higher leveled, too.  Clearly he’d had more practical fighting experience, while hers was limited to sparring in the Land of Departure and her few encounters with the Unversed before the ball.  Plus, he hadn’t even needed to fight her - his Unversed could restrain her just as easily.

Hopeless.

“No,” she told herself.  “There’s always a way.  There has to be.”

The Flood darted to her side and huddled up against her.  She was too tired to bother flinching away, and this particular Unversed, for whatever reason, had never tried to harm her.

She rolled over and sat up, eying the creature.   _It had never tried to harm her._

_“They’re made of what I feel.”_

If she took his word for that - which in this case seemed a safe bet - then there was some part of him, however small, that didn’t want to hurt her.  Combined with what she’d tricked him into revealing about Xehanort… Void might be attempting to appear like more of a threat than he really was.

But then again, was she willing to risk it?

Her mind ran circles, analyzing everything he’d said throughout their games.  In spite of everything, she still felt the urge to laugh at his defensiveness over his “waist-cape.”  Honestly, even her fabric wraps were less of a skirt than that.

Thinking about all of that was useless, though.  She knew that.  She needed a new angle, a fresh perspective.

_Maybe Vanitas left me a clue,_ she thought, reaching into her pocket for the letter.  Her fingers turned it over and over again, feeling its sharp creases, but just like before, she felt a spark of fear at the idea of opening it.

_I’m being ridiculous.  If he’s upset, he has every right to be.  I will take it like a Keyblade Master should._ So, this time, she took a deep breath and unfolded the page.

...

_Aqua -_

_Sheesh, you worry too much.  I’m not scared.  I’m not mad at you either._

A smile spread on her face; she could’ve sworn a physical weight lifted from her shoulders.  He wasn’t angry.  From someone else, she might have thought they were lying to protect her feelings, but Vanitas seemed the type who would tell her straight out.  

Something nagged at her though - something about his handwriting.  The sloppy scrawl looked strangely familiar.  It was probably nothing; she returned her attention to reading.

_I’m just mad at Void.  He seems like a pretty big_ \- something was scratched out there - _jerk.  Crazy strong jerk though._

_Here’s what happened.  He showed up out of nowhere out of some black portal thing.  He cast Sleep on you before I could do anything.  Then I got a couple of kicks and punches on him before he carried us off, but it didn’t do much. Then he threw me in this room and took you somewhere else.  I’m surprised he’s letting us write each other._

_So you’re not from this world, huh?  I guess that explains why you’re better than most of the losers around here.  If I could get out, I’d do it in a heartbeat.  That keyblade thing sounds cool.  You got any idea where I can get one?  I bet if we teamed up we could kick Void’s butt and bust out of here._

She laughed at that image.  It was sweet of him to say, even if it was impossible.  

_Also, you can quit apologizing.  I would have danced with you anyway.  I’m way more selfish than you are._

She paused and re-read those lines.  She could imagine those words as if he’d said them aloud, in his grumpy to-the-point voice.  For some reason, it warmed her inside.

_I’m doing fine for now.  Bored as Hades, but fine.  Void better be treating you okay.  I know you said not to fight him, but if he hurts you, I’ll kill him.  Keyblade or no keyblade._

_And what makes you think you’ll be the one to get me out of here?  Maybe I’ll surprise both of you key masters and be the hero.  In the meantime, don’t do anything stupid._

_\- Vanitas_

She covered her mouth, hiding a little laugh.  It was adorable, really, the idea of him trying to protect her.  She pictured him trying to scowl Void to death and had to laugh again.

As relieved as she was by the letter, there was still something wrong - he hadn’t answered one of her questions.  She scanned the messy handwriting, wondering if she had missed something, and then turned the paper over.  That was where she found a few more scribbled words.

_P.S. You said I was handsome.  Is that enough proof for you?_

Her face heated.  Of all the things from that night that he could have picked...

_“Because you’re beautiful.”_

_“Thank you…?”_

_“That wasn’t a compliment.  That was a fact.”_

_“Um, well… you’re rather handsome yourself.”_

_“...What?”_

_“That’s  just a fact, you know.”_

The memory brought a small smile to her face.  When was the last time someone had called her beautiful?  She couldn’t remember.  Wait, she could - it was the Master, the day she had accidentally burned off a chunk of her hair while learning Fira.  She’d had to cut her hair up to her neck to get rid of all the singed pieces.  It had been horrible.  But Master Eraqus had cleaned up her subpar job, smiled at her, told her that her short haircut suited her.  He’d assured her that she was beautiful.

That was five years ago.  She had kept her hair short ever since.

She shook off the reminiscence.  The Master was like a father to her, so while that experience counted, it didn’t count in the same way.  Vanitas had called her beautiful in such a matter-of-fact way, as if there couldn’t possibly be any question.  It had brought a… surprising feeling, to say the least.

And while she’d mostly complimented him back in order to shake off her own embarrassment, he _was_ handsome.  Maybe she shouldn’t have thought that, considering he was probably a year or two younger than her.  It was difficult to tell, though.  His expressions had seemed too intense for someone younger than her, and yet for a moment he’d seemed to break…

_“Can I… can I have a hug?”_

_“Of course.”_

He’d clung to her like it was the last hug he would ever get.  Or maybe it was the first.  Did he have parents?  Most normal people her age or younger would, but he had been alone.  Except, he’d been looking for someone, hadn’t he?  

_“Oh?  Did you find them?”_

_“...Yeah.”_

And then he’d flashed that smirk, the one that been more attractive then it had any right to be, coming from a stranger.  But if he’d found who he was looking for, why had he ended up dancing with her afterwards?  Unless… he couldn’t have meant he’d wanted to find _her?_

“I’m being silly, aren’t I?”  She said aloud.  The Flood looked up from its place at her side.

Well, there was only one way to find out.  So she picked up her journal, tore out a page, and started to write.

XXX

_Some day off this turned out to be,_ Vanitas thought when he finally sunk into bed that night.  He only had himself to blame - if he hadn’t let Xehanort’s involvement slip to Aqua, she wouldn’t have freaked out, and they could’ve kept playing Command Board, and… and what?  Playing a stupid board game wouldn’t make her his friend.

Wait, since when did he care if she was his friend?  He just wanted her for her light.  And to forge the X-Blade with, if Ventus ended up being too weak.

_Light is stupid._ He really should sleep in a different room, the clean smell of it was probably rotting his brain in his sleep.  He didn’t trust her not to attempt another escape during the night, though, not after what she’d said today.

She was asleep now, though.  Like he should be.  But first, he’d better check up on Ventus again.  He steeled himself and reached inside for their connection.  Light flashed behind his eyelids, and then -

_Safe… sleepy… small… why… mice… hope leave soon…_

Vanitas grit his teeth and let the connection go.  Not much of anything helpful this time.  It was still more difficult than it should’ve been, especially considering he could tell Ventus was close.  Probably still on this world, though apparently he wanted to leave.  What was keeping him here?

...Unless he could feel Vanitas nearby, too.  Or if Terra had foolishly decided to stay, even after that display of darkness.  But that wouldn’t make sense; he’d felt Ventus’s sadness and abandonment the previous night.  They had to have separated.

_Ugh.  Guess I’ll just have to check it out in person._

But that was a worry for tomorrow.  He’d deal with those idiots in the morning.  For now, he tried to just enjoy the fact that he was inside, he had a warm bed, and Aqua hadn’t escaped while he was gone.  

His plan would still work, regardless of what she knew.  He just had to be patient.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A disclaimer I keep forgetting to mention - I’m not trying to imply that Vanitas’s feelings towards Aqua are healthy.  In fact, I’d argue that at this point, they’re definitely not.  But he’s very messed up and still has a long way to go.
> 
>  


	10. Escaping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um… well… clearly I lied again.  Here’s another chapter ^^;  The main reason ASAS is taking so long (other than that I have a lot of inspiration for this fic) is that I need to replay a couple bits of Dream Drop Distance to make sure I get some parts of that chapter right.  That might still take me a little while, so I’ll stop making promises I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep, especially since I’ve already started on the chapter after this one.  *sweatdrop*
> 
> Also, surprise, this isn’t a Terra/Cinderella chapter.  This bit ended up needing to come first time-wise, but Terrella will be back next time!

 

Aqua almost screamed.  Was Void ever going to let her get a full night of sleep?  The Cursed Coach had suddenly started rolling erratically, throwing her against the inside wall.  Her Flood had woken too and was hiding in the floor.  Its little puddle vibrated nervously.

“Shhh, it’s okay,” she whispered to it, though she wasn’t so sure.  More Unversed had appeared in the room, and they didn’t look as friendly as the Flood.  The group was comprised of Bruisers and Scrappers mostly, plus a couple of Red Hot Chillis.  Aqua summoned her keyblade and prepared for the worst.

“ _No!”_ Void called from under his covers.  Aqua pressed herself against the wall at an angle where he wouldn’t see her, even though it was probably too late already.  “Xehanort…!”  He cried out as if in pain.  Had one of his own Unversed turned against him?  No - they were fighting _each other._

“What…?”  She peeked farther out, then tumbled forward when the Coach jolted again.  It seemed to be whipping a nearby Bruiser, who turned and rammed itself towards her.  Thankfully, the bars of the cage prevented it from reaching her, but it still shook the Coach violently.  How was this all not waking up Void?  He’d said that if she attacked his Unversed, he’d feel it; did the same not apply for them attacking each other?

“Stop it!  You’ll kill-!”  Void’s sharp, desperate words cut off, dissolving into gibberish.  

“Is he… talking in his sleep?”  Aqua asked.  The Flood tentatively poked its head out of its puddle, an odd sight.  Then it emerged fully and darted out the bars and across the floor.

“Come back!”  She called to it in a loud whisper.  “You’ll get hurt out there!”

But it didn’t.  It dodged under a Bruiser’s foot, past the claws of a Scrapper, and stopped next to the hallway door.  It stared back at her and twitched its antennae.

Watching it, Aqua realized this might be her best chance.  She hadn’t anticipated this chaos, but it might work more to her advantage than her original escape plan.

She knocked on the Cursed Coach, hoping that in its confusion it would open up, even though it would normally refuse while Void was asleep.  Her luck wasn’t that strong - the Unversed rolled off again, jerking her sideways and almost clipping the corner of Void’s bed.  Even though he must be deep in the thrall of sleep, he certainly would have woken if they’d collided.

“I can’t… please…” Void murmured.  If Aqua hadn’t been so busy just trying to stay standing inside the crazed Unversed, she might have thought about how pained he sounded.  Instead she just felt relieved.

 _Alright.  We’ll just move on to Plan B._ Which had been Plan A up until a few moments ago, anyway.  She would have rather implemented it in the early morning when she was well-rested, but she wouldn’t complain at this opportunity.

She pulled on her boots and loaded up her command deck.  She had already installed the Sleep command she’d won off of Void; now it was just a matter of seeing if it would work on the Cursed Coach.

She took a deep breath and pressed her palm against its side.  “Sleep.”

At first, nothing seemed to happen.  Then its rolling slowed, slowed, and came to a stop.  She cast a quick glance at Void, but he was still buried under his blankets, murmuring against the white noise of the Unversed’s brawl.

 _Here goes nothing._ As her heart pounded against her ribcage, she heaved up on the underside of the Coach’s mouth.  It was lighter than it looked; she was able to pry the barred window open.  After that it was a simple matter to slip through and touch down on the floor.

“Don’t… Aqua…”

She froze upon hearing Void mumble her name.  Was some part of him still awake?  She wanted to dart out the door before she found out, but if he did awaken, he would catch up before she could get far.  The safer bet would be to cast Sleep on him too.

She skidded and side-stepped around the infighting Unversed, resisting the instinct to just stab them with her keyblade.  There was always the chance that that could still wake him.

Then she was at the side of his bed, staring at her reflection in his mask.  She realized suddenly that if he was awake, she wouldn’t know until it was too late.  His eyes could even be open right now.

 _“Sleep,”_ she whispered quickly.  It was immediately clear that it had worked - the tension bled out of his neck; his silent shaking went still.  The Unversed in the room calmed and then faded away, until only the small Flood was left.

 _He was having a nightmare_ , she realized. _That must have been what spawned them._  Ironic, considering he was a living nightmare himself.

Briefly - and foolishly - she considered removing his mask while he was sure to be unconscious.  What kind of face would the monster have?  Did he have one at all?

She shook her head and left him alone.  That was a risk she couldn’t take, not when she was so close to her freedom.

The Flood was still waiting for her at the door.  She turned the handle, and… it jiggled uselessly.  Locked.  Locked!  Of course it was locked.  Void never used it; he was always going in and out with his portals.  Normally she would just her keyblade to open the door, but doing so would cause such a lightshow it was bound to wake Void, Sleep spell or not.

Then she realized something that made her want to slap herself.  It was locked - but it was locked _from the inside._ Of course, this _was_ a bedroom, after all.

So she flicked the latch, turned the handle, and slowly pushed open the door.  It let out an ominous _creeeeeeak -_ the poor thing couldn’t have been oiled in years.  She glanced back at Void and the Cursed Coach, but they showed no signs of movement.

Could she really do it?  After all her planning, all her worrying, could she be out so quickly?

The Flood tried to slip past her, but she held out her leg, as if forbidding a dog from leaving the house.  

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to it, and was surprised to find that she actually was.  The blue creature had been her only company - well, her only likable company - since she’d been kidnapped.  “I can’t take you with me.”  She couldn’t risk Void somehow tracking her that way.

The Flood’s head hung, but it stayed behind her as she closed the door.

And then she was free.  Well, almost - she still had to find Vanitas.  And do it before Void awoke and realized she was missing.

_Deep breaths.  I’m a Keyblade Master.  I can do this._

With adrenaline powering her steps, she took off down the moonlit hallway.

XXX

“Gah!”  Vanitas bolted upright, his ears still ringing from the sound of something knocking on his helmet.  “What the-!”

A Flood perched on his chest.  What?  He’d been fast asleep - well, he’d been having a nightmare, but then it had suddenly faded away.  He’d been left in a peaceful emptiness deep as the Void itself.  No feelings, and therefore, no Unversed.  So where had this one come from?

It knocked sharply on his helmet again.

“I’m up, idiot.”  He swatted its arm away.  “What is it?”

The Flood hopped down from the bed and slithered over to the door.  Vanitas tensed and silently followed, removing his helmet and pressing his ear to the thick wood.  He didn’t hear anything, but the Flood was still gesturing towards it wildly.

“Alright, alright,” he whispered, putting his helmet back on.  “I’ll check it out.  Let’s just make sure Aqua’s still asleep first.”

It threw its arms in the air and rolled its head.  Sassy little thing.

Vanitas crept towards the Cursed Coach, hoping he hadn’t woken her up with his shout.  He didn’t see any movement, at least, but even with his keen eyesight it was too dark inside to tell for sure.

Until he was within a foot of the Unversed.  Then his breath stopped, and he finally understood what his Flood had been trying to tell him:

Aqua was gone.

His jolt of fear produced a flock of Archravens that flapped madly around the room.  He struck three out of the air with a Dark Firaga, cursing the idiotic creatures, cursing himself for being weak enough to accidentally let so many out.  But they were here now, so he shoved aside his racing thoughts and decided to make the most of it.

“Find Aqua,” he ordered them.  They still fluttered around the room, until he shoved open the door and shooed them out.  At the last second, and prompted by his earlier nightmare, he added: “And don’t hurt her if you can help it.”

That might be a mistake - after all, if she did make it out of the castle, he was done for - but it was too late.  The Archravens were already gone.

The oddly expressive Flood wasn’t, though.  It stood next to the door, impatiently tapping one of its skinny feet.

“I’m coming, idiot.  We wouldn’t be having this problem if you’d woken me up _before_ she escaped.  And you!”  He turned to the Cursed Coach, whose tiny eyes at the top of its stem were still closed.  At his shout they blinked open lazily.  “I’d like to hear you try to explain to me how she escaped when she was _literally inside you._ If I don’t just kill you first.”

But he didn’t have time to do either of those things.  Aqua was getting away as he spoke.  She could already be off this world, especially if she’d somehow called his bluff about “Vanitas.”  He tried not to think about that.

“You coming or what?”  He called to the Flood, then ran out the door.

XXX

Empty.  Empty.  Empty.

Aqua unlocked door after door with her keyblade, but each lifeless room only made her hope sink further.  Where could Void have hidden Vanitas?  By glancing out a window as she ran past, she had gathered that they were still in the Castle of Dreams, if a strangely uninhabited part of it.  It couldn’t _all_ be this empty; surely there was only a small area Void could have staked out.

_Was his letter really a fake after all?  It sounded so much like Vanitas…_

She banished the thought.  He _had_ to be here somewhere.  She would find him before -

She heard the flapping of wings.  Getting louder.  

“Unversed,” she hissed, running faster; there weren’t any doors to pause and check in this hall, anyway.  Maybe checking doors was a waste of time - she could go straight to the Castle Guard.  They had been fighting Unversed at the ball; surely they could help her look for Vanitas.  If it wasn’t too late by then…

She glanced over her shoulder in time to see a whole flock of flying Unversed round the corner.  She hadn’t seen these before, but she’d rather not get close enough for her Scan ability to give her their name.  

Columns passed in a blur as she fled, but she could hear the Unversed still gaining.  Running wasn’t going to work.  Besides, if they were here, that meant Void was already awake.

 _Guess I’ll find out what they’re called after all._ She spun, assumed a solid battle stance, and faced down dozens of glowing red eyes.

_Send all the monsters you want, Void.  You’re not taking me back!_

XXX

Vanitas clenched his jaw against the pain and panic that returned to him with the death of each Unversed.  Aqua was still close.   _Too close,_ he thought as another wave of backwashed emotion hit him.  She was ripping through the Unversed too quickly for him to replace.

 _It doesn’t matter.  I can still take her on my own,_ he told himself.   _I’ll just wear her down enough to cast Sleep and -_

Oh.  No, he wouldn’t.   _She_ had his Sleep command.  He would’ve smacked himself for his stupidity, but he was already in enough pain from the deaths of his Unversed.

Not only did she have his Sleep, she had several of his other powerful commands.  It would take a near-impossible stroke of luck to defeat her at this point.

His Flood paused at the intersection of hallways up ahead and peered around the corner.  Vanitas didn’t need its caution to know that Aqua would be there; he felt her cutting through his last Archraven.  And worse - he thought he heard other footsteps, pounding in time with the clinking of armor.  If the Castle Guard showed up, he knew he couldn’t take them all on at once.  He might be arrogant, but he wasn’t a complete idiot.  ...Usually.

He pressed his fist to the front of his helmet, thinking for all he was worth.  He couldn’t fight her himself.  He didn’t have the stamina to overwhelm her with his Unversed, like he’d tried to do with Terra.  Violence was really letting him down this time; he wasn’t accustomed to needing alternative solutions to his problems.  Except when -

Except when he’d disguised himself to enter the ball.

An idea sprouted in his mind.  A stupid, desperate idea.  But he _was_ desperate.  

He opened a corridor, trying to ignore the tiny part of him that was relieved he might not have to fight her after all.

XXX

“Madam, I must ask you to leave at once,” a guard told Aqua.  She turned away from the door she’d just opened - empty again - to face them.  Shimmering torchlight bathed their faces, making them look almost as spectral as the Unversed.

“Believe me, I would love to,” she told them, banishing her keyblade and raising her hands in a gesture of peace.  Two of the five guards recoiled.  Right.  They wouldn’t be used to weapons magically appearing and disappearing.  The other three lowered their pikes threateningly.  “Please, I really do want to leave.  I’m only here because I was kidnapped.”

“Our king would never do such a thing!”  The first guard - presumably the captain, by the extra-tall plume on his cylindrical helmet - replied.  She couldn’t help thinking he looked ridiculous, with that tall hat and stern, unchanging expression.  Like a toy soldier, or one of the nutcrackers the Master had them set up around the winter holidays.  

“You will come with us, and he will be the judge of your crime,” the captain continued.

Seriously?  Had she escaped only to be thrown in a different prison?  Keyblade wielders were supposed to follow the laws of each world they visited, but she would break that rule in a heartbeat to avoid being captured again.

“I don’t think your king had anything to do with it,” she tried to explain quickly, before they just decided to try and grab her.  She didn’t want to have to fight them if she could help it, especially when Void could appear at any moment.  “There’s a boy hiding in the Castle.  He’s the one making all of the monsters that keep appearing.  I just escaped, but before I can leave I need to find my friend that he kidnapped too.”

The captain frowned thoughtfully, then brought his pike back to a resting position.  “Very well.  If there are multiple intruders in the castle, then it is our duty to find them too.  But _then_ we will take you to see the king.”

Aqua nodded.  She didn’t know if the king would believe her story, but she _had_ danced with the prince.  He’d seemed like a kind and reasonable man.  Maybe he would be willing to pull a few strings to ensure they were set free.

There were no more signs of Unversed, but Aqua was still sure to keep as quiet as possible as they searched the surrounding halls.  Noise might not make as much of a difference as that torchlight, though.  Where was Void?  Her skin pricked with goosebumps; she expected him to leap out of a portal any moment.  Had the guards frightened him off?  She asked if they would keep close together for safety, and the captain agreed, though he interpreted that to mean he should keep Aqua in the center of his soldiers where she couldn’t run away.

“Captain!”  A broad-chested guard called, looking down the next hall.  “There’s a monster this way!”

“Only one?”  He called back, and the group of them jogged over, Aqua easily keeping pace in the center of their formation.  She wished they would let her past; it would still feel good to take out her frustration and fear on Void’s creations.

When she saw which particular Unversed it was, though, she called, “Wait a minute.”

It was a Flood, just slightly smaller than most.  It was scratching at the bottom of a door at the end of the hall.  At the sound of her voice, it jumped up and waved its thin arms, as if calling her over.

“What is this?”  The captain asked her, his frown so sharp it could’ve cut glass.  “Are you in league with these creatures?”

“No, I hate them as much as you do.  But this one’s different.  I think it’s the one that helped me escape.”

It sounded ridiculous now that she said it out loud.  The captain raised an eyebrow; she blushed.

“I’ll go check it out.  If that’s alright.”

He nodded curtly, his eyes not leaving her.  As if there was anywhere she could run in this dead-end hallway.  She clenched and opened her fists, trying to shake off her exasperation at the guards.  They were just trying to do their jobs.

She slowly approached the twitching Flood.  It looked up, but didn’t attack.  That was a good sign.

“Hey, little guy.  I need to get to that door; can you step aside for me?”

It blinked its narrow eyes at her.  Then it skittered out of the way, taking its place behind her.  She smiled.

“Thank you.”

 _“Aqua?”_ A voice called from behind the door.   _“Aqua, is that you?”_

Her heart skipped a beat; her smile broke into an all-out grin.  “Vanitas!  Hold on, I’ll have you out in a second!”

_“Good.  I’m getting sick of all the dust in this stupid place.”_

Apparently he was in good enough shape to be snarky.  She laughed in relief and summoned her keyblade.

“Hey!” The captain called, but she was already unlocking the door.  The brilliant flash of light startled the guards back, but to their credit, they didn’t run away entirely.  She heard one of them murmur, “Who _is_ this woman?”

Aqua pulled open the door, and was surprised at how dark it was inside.  There were no windows to let in the faint moonlight.  She blinked for a few seconds before she finally saw a glimmer of gold reflecting the firelight behind her.

“Vanitas?”

He stepped out of the shadows into the doorway.  He was still dressed in the red formal suit from the ball, but it was smeared with dust.  She searched him for signs of injury and didn’t have to look far - a thin scar cut across his cheek, turned diagonal by the curve of his smirk.

“Miss me?”

She laughed and pulled him into a tight hug, surprising herself along with him.  “Of course.  I was so worried about you.”

When he didn’t reply, and made no move to hug her back, she let him go and looked into his face.  In spite of that smirk, she noticed for the first time how wide his eyes were.  Fear danced there along with the reflection of the flames.  She also noticed… something else.  A feeling she’d grown accustomed to over the past few days.

He was emitting darkness.

“Alright, you two,” the captain called.  “That’s enough.  Come with me.”

Vanitas froze.  “What does that guy want with us?”

“He thinks we’re intruders,” Aqua explained, saving her sudden anger for a more appropriate time.   _Void, I don’t know what you did to him, but you’re going to pay for it._  “He wants to take us to see the king.  It’s okay though, I think I can convince them to let us go.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” he replied, eyes darting around wildly.  If he noticed the Flood that had sidled up to Aqua’s legs, he didn’t acknowledge it.

“I’m not sure we have a choice, unfortunately.”

One guard was approaching them with his pike held steady.  He kept his voice kind as he said, “The Captain’s softer than he looks.  He’ll keep you kids safe if you come along.”

“We’re not kids,” Vanitas said sharply, but the effect was ruined by how he had to lift his chin to meet the guard’s eyes.

“But we _will_ come,” Aqua added, given Vanitas a look that she hoped said, _just play along.  Trust me._ It must have worked well enough, because he gave a shallow nod.

The guard grinned, looking a little relieved.  Woman or not, she’d managed to intimidate them with her keyblade.  She sighed; it was things like this that made Terra call her a girl “sometimes.”

The five guards circled around them, then marched them through the maze of dim hallways.  They didn’t seem to notice, but Aqua saw the little Flood following behind, a dark stain against the red carpet of the floor.  Well, if it had helped her find Vanitas, it couldn’t be too much of a danger, could it?

They navigated the sharply turning corridors until their warm torchlight was joined by flickering candelabras. Vanitas flinched, as if the pinpricks of light were physically hurting him.  Or maybe he was just afraid of reaching their destination.  She wanted to comfort him, but was too wary to do anything more than smile reassuringly.

“I really think we should get out of here,” Vanitas said under his breath, gaze still sweeping the castle.  “You said you’ve got a keyblade, right?  Can’t you just take these losers out?”

“...I’d rather not,” she quietly replied.  “If worst comes to worst, I can try.  But I still think we can settle this peacefully.  The prince was reasonable when I danced with him; I believe he will listen to me.”

“Yeah, if they don’t just lock us up because of me first.  I stole you from him, remember?”

“I wouldn’t say you _stole_ me.  It wasn’t like he owned me after one dance.”  She frowned.  “Still, I could see how his father might not be happy about that, considering what Henri said about him.”

Vanitas snorted.  One of the guards prodded him in the back with the butt end of his pike.

“Quiet, you two.”

Aqua spun towards the guard, clenching a fist tight to keep herself from summoning her blade.  “Don’t touch him.  Can’t you see that he’s been through enough?”

“Give them a break, Jean.”  One of the other guards placed a hand on his shoulder, and he had the decency to look embarrassed.

“...I don’t look _that_ rough, do I?”  Vanitas muttered as he stared down at himself.

He kind of did, but he probably didn’t need to hear that from her right now.  Besides, the captain was knocking on a door, signaling their arrival.  A few seconds passed before a mustached man in a nightgown answered.  He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and put on a monocle.

“Captain?  It’s…” he yawned again, “awfully late.  Is something the matter?”

“Yes, my lord.  We have discovered two intruders in the castle.  They may even be related to the thefts the cooks have reported recently. Would you ask the king what should be done?”

Aqua blushed, glad that she had rejected most of the food that Void had attempted to share with her.

“Well, let’s take a look at them first.”  The man adjusted his monocle, then blinked rapidly when his eyes landed on her.  “Well!  This is - this is wonderful!  Oh, the king will be thrilled!”

“He will?”  The captain balked.

“Yes, yes,” the man waved him away.  “I can take care of them from here.  Thank you very much, Captain.  I will inform the king of your success.”

“Err… yes, my lord.”

With a last glance at her and Vanitas, the captain and the guards marched away.  Then they were alone with the strange mustached man.  While his words had made her hopeful, the way he stared at her was a little unnerving.

“Why would the king be excited to see me?”  She asked, though she already had a sneaking suspicion.  Hopefully Henri had been exaggerating about just how much his father wanted him to court someone.

“Oh - well, nevermind that.”  He coughed into his fist.  “I’m sure he’ll want to tell you himself.  Now!  Follow me, please!”

After he turned his back on them, Aqua shared a worried look with Vanitas.  He mouthed the question she was already thinking: _Run?_

A moment of hesitation, and then she shook her head.  Void could still be prowling the halls; their safest bet would be to have the king lead them to the castle’s exit.

He nodded almost imperceptibly.  His pupils were still wide, his jaw still set.  He followed behind her, as if trying to hide within her shadow.  Again she felt the darkness wafting from him.

 _Vanitas, what did he do to you…?_ His letter had said he was doing fine, but he must have been trying to put on a tough face for her.  Either that or Void hadn’t allowed him to write about what was really going on.

In less than a minute, they had arrived at a different door, this one much larger and more ornate than the last.  Their guide cleared his throat and then knocked thrice.

“Oh, I certainly _hope_ he is happy to see you…” He said under his breath.  Aqua forced herself to stand straight and still; better not to show how nervous she was.  If nothing else, maybe her display of confidence would calm Vanitas.

The door opened, revealing a short and rather pudgy man, who didn’t look particularly happy to see anyone.

“Duke?  Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“Err, yes, Your Majesty, but I thought you would want to see this immediately.”  The duke stepped aside, leaving Aqua open to the king’s scrutiny.  He squinted, rubbed his eyes, and then let out a bellowing laugh.

“Aha, you’ve done it!” The king clapped.  “The boy said it couldn’t be done!  She vanished into thin air, he said! But here she is!”

He stretched his arms out towards Aqua, but she took a step back, bumping into Vanitas. That was when the king noticed him.

“But _you!”_ His face burned red.  Vanitas grinned tauntingly.

“What about me?”

“Sire, your blood pressure!”

The king swatted the duke’s warning hand away.  “I’ll have none of that!  This is the lad who ruined my son’s dance!  Why have you brought this miscreant here?  Take him away, lock him in the dungeon!”

“I’d like to see you try, you old-”

“But Sire, you’re being absolutely-”

 _“Stop!”_ Aqua finally yelled.  If only she had a Stop command in her deck - but her shout was effective, at least startling the three of them into silence.  “There’s been a misunderstanding, Your Majesty.  Vanitas and I are innocent.  We were kidnapped from your ball a few days ago, and when we escaped tonight, your guards found us in the castle.  Please, we both just want to go home.”

Her voice finally cracked.  The lack of sleep, the desperate escape attempt, the arguing - it was all adding up, slowly grinding her down in spite of her determination to stay strong.

“Go home?  Why, but this will be your home shortly, my dear!”  The king beamed at her, as if he’d just told her she’d won the lottery.

“What are you talking about?”  Vanitas demanded before she could get the words out.  “You’re not going to kidnap us too.”

“Of course not!”  The duke said; meanwhile the king took a step towards Vanitas, hands on his hips.

“Hmph!  As if I would want to-!”

 _“Enough!”_ Aqua forced herself between them.  Master Eraqus would not be proud of her ‘diplomacy’ here, but that was the least of her concerns now.  “I do not know what you are implying, Your Majesty, but I will _not_ be staying here.  And neither will Vanitas.”

“What - you - are you suggesting that you wouldn’t marry the Prince?”  The king asked.  

“ _Marry_ him?”  Aqua repeated in an attempt to process the question.  She’d been warned that the prince was supposed to court someone, but _marriage?_ Did the king have her confused with someone else?

“Of course she wouldn’t,” Vanitas scoffed, then stole a glance at her.  “Right?”

Though she agreed with his sentiment, she shot him a warning look.  His unbridled tongue could easily get them into even deeper trouble.

“What he means is, I barely know the Prince.  We danced for fifteen minutes at the most.”

“Yes, I’m aware.” The king glared at Vanitas again before clearing his throat.  “But there would be plenty of time to get to know him between now and the wedding.”

How could he even say that with a straight face?  She couldn’t get married!  Not to the Prince, not to anyone - she was a Keyblade Master, for light’s sake!  It was so ridiculous that she was torn between wanting to laugh and wanting to slap the king.  She’d just escaped captivity; darkness was threatening the worlds; Terra and Ven could be in danger.  She didn’t have time to stand here and argue with a delusional old man, king or not.

“There will be _no wedding,”_ she said.

“But - but-” The king’s jaw flapped as he searched for words.  “You would be Queen one day!”

“No, thank you.”  She turned to walk away, but the duke reached out to grab her arm.

“Don’t touch her!” Vanitas shouted, but the duke ignored him.

“Please, mademoiselle, would you reconsider?” He practically begged.  His eyes were even more frightened than Vanitas’s had been.  Whatever crazed politics were going on here, she wanted no part of them.  She jerked her arm out of his weak grip.

“My decision is final,” she said icily.

“But-!” The king began to stutter.

Rainfell sprung to Aqua’s hand in a flash of light.  She didn’t point it at either of them, but they scrambled back anyway.

“I _said,_ my decision is final.”  

She looked towards Vanitas, who was smirking at the royals’ reactions.  For the first time tonight, he didn’t look the least bit afraid.  Void had probably threatened him enough that the shock of summoning a keyblade had worn off.

“Come on.  We’ll find our way out on our own,” she told him, though her hands trembled at the thought of running into Void again.

Vanitas nodded.  As they sprinted down the hall, he called one last insult over his shoulder.

“See ya never, losers!”

XXX

By the time they stopped just within the forest, Vanitas’s lungs felt ready to explode.  It must have only been ten minutes at most, but he felt like he’d been fleeing through dark hallways and starlit courtyards for an eternity.

“You think we lost them?”  He asked between gasps of air.  Of all the training Xehanort had forced him to endure, he hadn’t included distance running.  Pretty inconsiderate of him.

Aqua glanced over her shoulder before sinking to the ground.  “I think so.  They’ll be more concerned with protecting the castle than chasing after us, I think.”

“I don’t know.”  Vanitas sat down beside her, though he was careful to keep a safe distance between them.  “That idiot seemed pretty set on marrying you off to his kid.”

“He was pretty stupid, wasn’t he?”  She smiled at him.  His heartbeat stuttered, as if he needed another reminder of how intent it was on betraying him lately.

“Yeah.  Did you see how red his face got?  I thought he was actually going to explode.”

She laughed; he hated how much he enjoyed that sound.  How much he’d missed it.  This half-thought plan had only stolen him a little more time; he couldn’t let himself get used to it.

“I thought so too.  You really shouldn’t have pushed him, you know.”

He shrugged.  “I don’t think it mattered.  He still would’ve flown off on me.”

“You’re probably right… It’s hard to believe he was so upset by you.  Whether you had come to the ball or not, I wouldn’t have married the prince.”  She shuddered.  “And he was so caught up in that, we didn’t get the chance to tell him about Void.”

“Yeah.”  Vanitas swallowed.  So far, she’d shown no signs of suspicion towards him - the opposite, in fact.  She seemed even more happy to see him than he’d expected.  It was… jarring, to say the least.  Not unpleasant, though.

Aqua scooted a little closer to him, looking him in the eyes.  It was hard not to flinch back from them now that his face was bare again.

“Vanitas, if you don’t mind me asking… what did he do to you?”

“Nothing,” he lied, dodging her gaze.  “Just threw me in that room and ignored me, basically.”

She frowned.  “Vanitas.  Please.  If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to, but you don’t need to lie.”

“...I don’t want to talk about it.”  He pulled his knees close to his chest.  It was hard to keep his breathing even.  She couldn’t guess, she couldn’t know…

“Alright,” she reluctantly replied.  “Would you mind if I healed you, at least?”

“I’m fine,” he told her.  He might look rough, but he wasn’t injured - at least, not in any way she should be able to see.

Her fingers reached out, lightly touching his cheek.  At first he was too surprised to recoil.  Then he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“Then what’s this?” She asked.

What was what?  Oh - the cut from the shards of his shattered helmet.  He hadn’t had the chance to cast Cure on it, and then he’d forgotten.

“Uh…”

“It’s okay.  You don’t have to tell me how it happened, but can I fix it?”

Her hand was still on his face.  It smelled like flowers.  What had she said?  Oh, right.  Fixing him.

“What, you’ve got a band-aid or something?” He asked, since “Vanitas” wouldn’t know about Cure magic.  She laughed a little.

“Not exactly.”  A soft green light pooled around her fingers, cool and soothing against his skin.  He’d expected it to burn him, the way light spells typically would, but it was just a regular Cure, if one cast with more skill than his own.

“That’s… a lot better than a band-aid,” he said, touching the now-smooth spot where her hand had been.  “Feels good as new.”

“I’m glad.”  She smiled again, though it didn’t reach her eyes.  She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out - something else caught her attention.  Vanitas looked in the direction she was facing, back towards the castle.

“Guards again?”  He stood, itching to summon Void Gear.  It felt like ages since he’d just been able to fight something.

“No - look.  There, on the ground.”

She stood and pointed, and he saw it.  A dark blue puddle, zipping towards them.  Vanitas relaxed; it was just a Flood.  The same one that had been following him around back at the castle, he could tell when he reached out to it through his heart.  Not only was it sassy, it was also persistent.  Why would it have followed him all the way out here?  He hadn’t given it any commands.  In fact, he still had no idea when he’d created it.

Then he remembered he should probably look scared, or at least concerned.  So he did.

“You can kill it, can’t you?”  He asked her.

“...I guess so,” she said, though she looked reluctant when it appeared out of the ground a few feet away.  “It’s funny.  I know they’re monsters, but this one… it’s still all by itself.  I wonder if it’s the one that helped me escape?”

 _“What?”_ Vanitas shouted.  Aqua looked at him in surprise, then bit her lip.

“I know it sounds strange, but that’s what happened.  It led me to the room where Void was keeping you, too.”

 _Traitor,_ Vanitas thought, shooting a glare at the Unversed.  It kept its distance, twitching its antennae curiously.

“It sounds like some kind of trap to me,” he muttered.  A disconcerting thought tickled the back of his mind: _why_ had the Flood helped Aqua escape?  It was a part of him, if a tiny, insignificant one.  It shouldn’t be capable of acting completely against him.

“I thought so, too.  But Void was out cold when it happened.  Besides, what could he gain from letting us go?”

 _Seeing you smile again,_ the thought flashed through his mind.He dug his fingernails into his arm, banishing it.

“I don’t know.  But I still don’t think we should trust that thing.”  He reached out to the Flood again, mentally prodding it to go away.  It must’ve been as stupid as it looked, because it still stood there, blinking at him like it had been Confused.

“Well… alright.”  She sighed and summoned her keyblade.  Before she could take more than a step towards it, the Flood decided to listen to him, and it scampered off into the trees.

“Weird little thing.”  Vanitas shook his head.  “I didn’t think you had a soft spot for monsters, Aqua.”

“...Me neither.  It’s silly, isn’t it?”  She sat back on the ground, leaning against the base of a thick tree.  “It still makes me wonder, though… Void said that they’re made out of his emotions.  If this one really did help me, do you think that means he has some good in him?”

Something squirmed in Vanitas’s chest at the question.  It didn’t surface as an Unversed, thankfully.  He sat down in front of her, head resting back against the opposite tree.

“No,” he finally answered.  “I don’t.”

She nodded thoughtfully.  “You’re right.  Even if one of his Unversed was good, it doesn’t change what he did to us.”  She placed her hand over her heart.  “Speaking of which… I think I can fix something else he did to you, Vanitas.”

“What?”  He asked, brow furrowing.  “I never told you what else happened.”

“I know, but… I think he did the same thing to me.  I’m not sure how to explain it in a way that would make sense if you’re not a keyblade wielder.”

“Try me,” he challenged.  She hesitated, but went on.

“You know how I told you that he wanted my light?  Well, he took some of it, once.”  She shuddered, pulling her legs in close.  “It was horrible.  Like I was being sucked empty.  Like I was never going to feel happy again.  Did he ever do something that made you feel that way?”

 _I… made her feel like that?_ Honestly, he hadn’t thought about the consequences of taking her light.  He’d just assumed she had so much she wouldn’t miss it; the Princesses never did.  It was hard to remember that for as bright as she felt compared to a monster like him, she still wasn’t flawless.

He dug his fingers through the soft autumn dirt, remaining silent.

“I’m only asking because, well… I can sense darkness from you now.”

His head shot up, shock plain to see.   _Stupid!  How did I forget that?  She knows, she can see right through me -_

“It’s okay!”  Aqua held out her hands in a calming gesture.  “I mean, darkness isn’t okay, but what I mean is - I think I might be able to help fix it.”

“Fix - you want to get rid of my darkness?”  He finally realized.  It didn’t make sense.  You _couldn’t_ get rid of darkness.  At least, not permanently - his whole existence was proof of that.

“I don’t know how to do _that,”_ Aqua admitted.  “But I think I can give you back some light.  It’s the least I can do, after everything I’ve put you through.”

“It wasn’t your fault.  I thought I told you to stop apologizing for it.”  He should have just taken advantage of it, but those words had stabbed him as badly as her light had.  Maybe even worse.  

“Let me try to help you, then.  It’ll make me feel better.”

“...Well, we wouldn’t want _you_ to feel bad, now would we?”  He rolled his eyes, but a smirk stayed on his face.  Because it was _so like her_ to pretend she was the one being selfish, when she probably didn’t have a selfish bone in her body.

“Is that your way of saying yes?”  She asked.

“Yeah, sure.”  He shrugged.  It would be more suspicious of him to deny help.  And if whatever she did ended up hurting him, it couldn’t be worse than the punishments Xehanort regularly inflicted.  

She scooted forward, brushing dead leaves out of the way to kneel in front of him.

“Alright.  This shouldn’t hurt, but tell me if it does, okay?”

He nodded, not sure if that made him feel more worried or less.  Then she reached out and placed her hand over his heart.  He swore she would feel it beating out of his chest.

She closed her eyes tight, and wispy light coalesced around her palm.  Vanitas smelled it before he saw it - the sweet mix of honeysuckle and cold rain he thought he’d grown used to.  The wisps sunk through his stolen coat, through his skin, into his heart.  He clenched his teeth in preparation for pain… but it didn’t come.  At least, not the way it did when he stole light himself.  It felt a little like standing just a little too close to a fire - warm and comforting, so long as he didn’t stay there too long.  It filled him with something he couldn’t describe, something he hadn’t felt since he was whole…

Peace?

He was so caught up in the feeling, it took several long seconds before his mind actually processed what was happening: she was _giving him light._ Of her own free will.   _Why?_ What did she hope to gain?

Her hand slid from him - _all_ of her slid away, nearly collapsing on the leaf-littered ground.  He caught her by the shoulders, keeping her upright.

“Aqua?”  He asked, shaking her gently.  Her eyes blinked open.

“Nnnhh… Vanitas?  Are you alright?”

“Why don’t you tell me?  You’re the one who almost passed out.”

She laughed a little breathlessly.  “Sorry about that… I should have guessed something like this might happen.  I was just trying to replicate what Void did, but in reverse.”

“You were trying _what?”_ His grip tightened on her shoulders; she flinched a little, and he let go.  “You said that felt like being sucked empty!  Why the - why would you do that again?”

“Because I didn’t want _you_ to have to feel like that,” she said, regaining enough strength to smile.  “I’m fine, really.  How do you feel?”

“...Better than fine,” he admitted.  He didn’t expect it to last long, but at least for now, he felt… he felt _whole_ again.  “I still think it was pretty stupid of you to try it, but… thank you.”

This time, he didn’t even feel a spark of hesitation in saying it.

Though she insisted she was fine, he managed to convince her that they should call it a night.  It was more like early morning by now, but neither had the energy to go much further after their daring “escape.”

“I had hoped we could…” Aqua yawned, “get you back to your family tonight.”

He shook his head, suppressing a bitter laugh.  “Don’t worry.  They’re not missing me.”

She looked like she wanted to press him about that, but he didn’t offer anything more.  

“You think… Void will come back for us?”  She asked, exhaustion leaking through her voice.

“Maybe.  I’ll keep watch, just in case.”

“No, I should.  I’m the one with a keyblade.”  She yawned again, and he smirked.

“You’re also going to pass out any minute.  I’ll wake you if anything happens.  Trust me.”

“...Alright.  I still owe you one.”  She lied down next to the tree, using its root as a pillow.  Vanitas shook his head.

“You don’t owe me anything, Aqua,” he whispered.  Her light still pumped through his veins with each beat of heart.  He didn’t want to sleep now, no matter how tired he was.  This was a feeling he would savor for as long as he was capable.

He scratched at the embroidery around his neck and smiled.  Not a smirk, a _real_ smile.  It didn’t make sense.  He was running on basically no plan.  It seemed impossible to hide this from Xehanort for much longer.  It was probably impossible to hide his identity from Aqua for long, too.  But those worries seemed slippery, as if they belonged to someone else.  For the moment, Vanitas allowed himself to believe that they did.

 _Those are Void’s problems.  He can deal with them._ Right now, he didn’t feel like Void, a ruthless kidnapper, a monster behind a mask.  He didn’t even feel like Vanitas, half a heart, ruled by discordant emotions.

He felt like himself.  He felt like _Ven._

“Aqua…” He whispered.  She was already asleep in spite of the uneven ground.  He shook his head and chuckled softly.

“...You’re something else.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, this was a monster of a chapter.  I feel a bit like Aqua right now, it’s like 1 a.m. here and I’ve been working on this way too long xD  Please feel free to point out any typos or anything; this chapter is so long I probably didn’t catch them all.
> 
> The plot development with Aqua using the Sleep command to escape was inspired by The Unplanner, thanks for that!
> 
>  Edit: Also, thanks to the Unplanner for catching a mistake I made; Vanitas should still be wearing his ball outfit at the end of this chapter, not his dark suit. This should be fixed now.


	11. Hiding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends I’m back from the dead, I hope it’s not too late to update this lol

“Terra, do you really think we should stay here?”  Ven asked two mornings after Cinderella had officially said goodbye to her stepfamily.  They had stayed the night in the inn, along with Cinderella - in separate rooms, of course.  Terra had plenty of munny from his last battle with the Unversed to afford it.

“What, would you rather sleep out in the woods?”  Terra replied while throwing on his shirt.  Even Cinderella hadn’t been able to get the stain out, but she had been able to sew up the cut in his pants, thankfully.

“That’s not what I meant.  Cinderella’s safe now, isn’t she?  We didn’t see that many Unversed around yesterday.”  He sat on the corner of the dresser, swinging his tiny legs off the side.

“But we still saw them,” Terra argued.  “Vanitas is probably just lying low, waiting for us to let our guard down.”

“...Maybe,” Ven said.  “But there’s Princesses of Heart in other worlds, too. Like Aurora and Snow White.  What if he’s going after them too?”

Terra splashed some water on his face from the room’s washbasin, then shook his head.  He’d thought about this.  To be honest, part of him admitted Ven was probably right.

“Aqua’s out there investigating the Unversed too.  She can take care of the other Princesses.  After all, she’s a Master now.”

Ven’s head hung.  “Right…”

“Come on, Ven.”  Terra dropped to one knee next to the dresser, so his eyes were at his level.  “What’s going on?”

Ven looked away.  “Don’t worry about it.  You’ve gotta go walk Cinderella to the market again today, don’t you?”

“Hey.  That can wait.” Normally this would be where Terra would lightly punch Ven’s shoulder, but considering the size difference, he had to settle for a smile instead.  “Come on, I know something’s up.”

After a long silence, Ven finally heaved a sigh.  “It’s… it’s the size thing, alright?  I mean, Jaq and the mice are great, but I’m sick of being so _small.”_

“You’ve always been small, Ven,” he joked.  Ven crossed his arms and pouted.

“Yeah, and that’s bad enough!  I’ve always been smaller than you and Aqua.  I’ve always - I’ve always been weaker than both of you,” he finished quietly.

“Ven, we’ve had years more training than you,” Terra started, then realized that was probably the wrong thing to say.  Ven’s slumped shoulders confirmed it.

“You guys aren’t _that_ much older than me.  If I hadn’t lost all my memories from before…”

Terra winced, remembering the first time he’d met Ven.  Him falling into a coma over a few simple questions.  They still didn’t talk about that; Ven just thought he had been in a training accident that resulted in amnesia.

_And now I know it was something much worse._ As much as he wanted to comfort Ven and tell him he was strong enough to handle himself, Terra couldn’t let him run off while Vanitas was still free.

“Hey.  You might have lost your memories, but you still have us.  Me and Aqua.  We’ve got your back.”  He smiled.

“Yeah… I know.”  Ven sighed.  “I just wish I could have your back, too.”

“You do.  I know I can always count on you, Ven.”  He ruffled his messy blond hair with one finger.  “And right now, I’m counting on you to keep the mice out of trouble.  They wouldn’t stand a chance against the innkeeper’s cat without you.”

“...Right.”  Ven put on a smile.  Terra knew it wasn’t completely sincere, but it would be alright.  He always bounced back from things like this.

Terra finished getting ready for the day, but something that Ven had said still haunted him.  They _would_ need to leave.  Not today, but soon.

And then he would have to say goodbye again…

XXX

Aqua’s light slipped away from Vanitas little by little as the pink tint of dawn filtered through the trees.  He shivered, hugging himself tight.  He almost wished he’d fallen asleep; then he wouldn’t be conscious of how it left him feeling empty again, abandoned.  Broken.  It wasn’t like this when he stole light - but then again, when he stole light, the good feeling only lasted for a brief moment, not for the entire duration of the cloaking spell.  What Aqua had done had been different somehow.

She was still curled up next to her tree, sleeping soundly.  But she would wake soon enough.  He needed a new plan before that happened, but his mind was still foggy with exhaustion.  

He stuck his hand in his pocket, brushing his fingers over the letter she’d given him, but resisted the urge to pull it out and read it again.  That would only disrupt his focus more.

What was his main goal?  He had to make sure Xehanort didn’t find out that Aqua was still alive.  And he had to make sure that Aqua didn’t find out who he really was.  And, ideally, he would also make sure that Terra had left this world.

He rubbed his temples.  He was stretched too thin, backed into a corner.  And he’d put himself there with this whole crazy plan.  That was what he got for listening to his heart.  

_It’s too late to change that now.  All I can do is sweep up the pieces until the rest of Xehanort’s plan falls into place._

Until the plan fell into place - yes.  He could stall until then, couldn’t he?  He smirked; he was getting a few ideas of how he might do that already.  Just as long as Xehanort didn’t demand he show back up at the Keyblade Graveyard too soon.  Which he shouldn’t, as long as Terra did what he was supposed to.

After making sure Aqua was still asleep, Vanitas wandered off a ways through the trees and opened a dark corridor to Radiant Garden.  He released as many Unversed as he felt safe creating and sent them through.  That should be plenty to draw Terra away from this world.

He crept back to their makeshift camp and settled down next to a tree of his own, then allowed his eyes to close.  After all, _he_ at least knew that “Void” wouldn’t be coming after them, and he would need as much strength as he could muster for the coming day.

XXX

“Come in, I have a surprise for you,” Cinderella said with a smile when Terra knocked on her door.  He had no idea what that surprise could be - he’d been with her all day yesterday; he doubted she could have bought him anything at the market - but he followed her in anyway.  He swallowed a groan when he saw what it was.

Spread out on her bed was a navy blue tailcoat and straight-legged tan trousers.

“Cinderella, really, my clothes are fine,” he insisted.  “You did a great job patching them up.”

She covered her mouth as she chuckled.  “Terra, the seam on your pant leg is already coming undone.  Please, this isn’t any trouble; it was my father’s suit.  I asked the birds if they could fetch it from the manor last night.”

He discreetly looked down at his pants, but he still didn’t notice anything.  Maybe girls had an eye for that sort of thing.  He _had_ thought he’d felt them catch on something as he was getting ready, though, probably a loose nail.

Regardless of whether or not his clothes were intact, and regardless of if she’d admit it, she’d obviously gone through a lot of trouble to get this outfit for him.  At least it might keep him from sticking out like a sore thumb when he escorted her to the market today.  Yesterday he’d felt the stares of the townspeople smothering him nearly as much as at the ball.

“Alright,” he finally conceded.  “Thanks.”

Her smile was almost enough to make up for just how uncomfortable those pants were going to be.  ...Maybe more than almost.

The clocktower chimed nine by the time they finally made it to the market, Terra in his new and all-too-stifling outfit, Cinderella in another simple brown dress and apron.

“I’m sorry to have you go through all this trouble again,” she said as they strolled through the crowded streets.  Had there been this many people out yesterday? Maybe it just felt that way because he blended in now; the bustling men and women no longer gave him dubious glances and a wide berth.

“Hey, I don’t mind,” he reassured Cinderella.  “I can always ask more people about Vanitas and the Unversed.”  Especially if his appearance didn’t scare them off like it had yesterday. Granted, that might have been the bloodstain more than the style of his clothes, which he missed already. He wasn’t sure how well he could fight in these ridiculous tight pants.

“I would ask the city guard, if I were you,” Cinderella said.  “You can find them around the gates.  I’ll be fine on my own for a little while.”

“You’re sure?” He asked, but she just laughed.

“You’re sweet, Terra, but I can’t rely on you being here to protect me _all_ the time. Besides, I’ll just be talking with the tailors, now that I have all the proper papers.”  She smiled. Her efforts at finding a job yesterday had been pretty ineffective, but now that her mice and bird friends had stolen back her proof of identity from the Tremaines, she seemed more hopeful.  Terra wasn’t particularly sure what that had to do with becoming a tailor, but she would know more about the workings of her world than he did.

“Alright.” He nodded, a little red-faced.  He _was_ being too protective, even if it was for a good reason.  She and Ven were right; he couldn’t always be here to protect her…

They parted ways at the doors of the tailors’ guild.  As Cinderella disappeared inside the wooden door, Terra sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  What was wrong with him? Why _was_ he so much more concerned with protecting Cinderella than the other princesses?  All his instincts, including that strange vision he’d had, told him that she was in danger.  But how much of that was him using his head, and how much was his heart?

_The Master would tell me to use my heart, right?_ He wasn’t quite sure anymore.  Especially now that he knew there was darkness there…

Someone elbowing him in the side shocked him from his thoughts.  His keyblade nearly sprung to his hand, but it wasn’t a threat - just a woman a little too hasty on her way into the guild.  The streets were getting more packed as the sun rose higher, and he _was_ standing in the way.

He threw one last glance back at the guild before heading towards the city gates.  He still had a job to do.

XXX

“Oh, Vanitas.” Aqua’s chuckle startled him, nearly prompting a few Floods to escape.  “I suppose I can’t blame you for falling asleep too.”

“I’m awake,” he insisted, though his slurred voice said otherwise.  He hadn’t slept that deeply since… ever?  To his surprise and dismay, the sun was already casting slanted beams through the trees.  He’d planned to awake before her and get the chance to track down Ventus and Terra.  But it would still be fine.  He had a backup plan this time.

“It’s alright.  Void didn’t find us; that’s all that matters,” Aqua said, kneeling down beside him.  The sun glinted in her blue eyes - or maybe her own light had finally returned to her.  He certainly couldn’t feel it within himself anymore.  The hollowness inside him suddenly felt more painful than ever.

“How are you feeling?” She asked gently, eyebrows scrunched with concern.  He didn’t get the chance to lie before she continued, “My spell didn’t stick, did it.”

“...No.” He dodged her gaze.  There was no point lying about that, not when she could sense his darkness.  He could only hope she still wouldn’t make the connection.

“Do you want me to try again?”

He looked up sharply at that, eyes widening.  “What?”

“I could try again,” she repeated, but with less certainty this time.  “Only if you’d like me to, though.”

“If _I’d_ like-?” He couldn’t help it; he laughed incredulously.  “Of course I’d like it.  But Aqua - you can’t do that again.”

Those words surprised himself just as much as they seemed to surprise her.

“I can handle a little more pain, Vanitas,” she said somberly.  “After all, it was my fault-“

“No, it _wasn’t.”_ He rose to his knees so he could better meet her eyes.  “Shut up about that, okay?”

“...Alright.” She sighed, dodging his gaze for once. In hindsight, he should have just let her think it _was_ her fault.  She’d be much easier to manipulate that way.  But for some reason, the thought of that turned his stomach now.  Maybe some of her light actually had stayed with him.

He wasn’t sure if he found that idea comforting or terrifying.

“We’ll need to find a more permanent solution, then,” Aqua continued.  “I’m not going to leave you like this.”

“You - you’d do that?” It didn’t make sense.  She should want to leave this world, finish her mission of finding Terra or Xehanort or whatever she was supposed to be doing now.  Protecting all the worlds, not just… _him._ She wanted to help him; there was no other explanation, but - “ _Why?”_

She smiled and let out a small, sad laugh. “Is that so hard to believe?  You haven’t had many people try to help you before, have you.”

_Many? Try ‘none.’_

“...You could say that.” He sat back, resting his weight on his hands.  Aqua looked uncomfortable before asking another question.

“And… about your family…” She saw his frown, but still continued, “you don’t have to tell me, but…”

She was searching for the right words, but Vanitas spared her the effort.

“I don’t have one,” he answered honestly. His fingers dug in the dirt, feeling its grit beneath his nails.

“You don’t…?”

“Not anymore,” he snapped.  He didn’t want her stupid questions dragging up his memories, like her song, the one his dad used to sing…

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.  Her hand reached out like she might have touched his shoulder, but she held back.  Somehow he regretted that.

“Whatever.  It’s fine.  You ready to get out of these woods or not?”

“Yes, but where are we going to go?”

_We._ He almost laughed.  She was making his plan so much easier, and she didn’t even know it.  It didn’t matter where they went - as long as she stayed with him, Xehanort wouldn’t find her.

Assuming he could get Terra out of the picture, that was.

XXX

No matter how much Vanitas told her it wasn’t her fault, guilt still stabbed at Aqua’s chest every time she felt the now-familiar nausea from his darkness.  Even worse was the guilt from knowing she still needed to find Terra and Ven; she’d let them both down by being captured.  At least she knew now that Master Xehanort was behind this, but that knowledge wouldn’t help unless she could share it with Terra or the Master.  She could only hope that helping Vanitas wouldn’t take long… but with no parents to return him to, that didn’t seem likely.  And if her magic couldn’t return him to normal…

She watched him out of the corner of her eye as they trudged through the undergrowth.  He didn’t _look_ any different, for all that she could feel the waves of darkness rolling off of him.  His clothes were a bit worse for wear, but that was all.  Her Cure had healed everything else.

“What?”  He asked, catching her eyes on him.  She looked away quickly, then realized there wasn’t any point in hiding her thoughts.

“Just thinking of how to help with that darkness.”

His fist clenched like she’d hit a sore spot, though she wasn’t sure why.  The darkness wasn’t his fault; he had to know that.

“You’re smart,” he eventually said, a little sharper than necessary.  “You’ll figure it out.  Right?”  His voice softened along with his eyes.  He really trusted her to help him… she was the _only_ one who could help him.

“I’ll do my best,” she assured him, though her confidence from before had faded.  If only she could ask the Master… but she couldn’t take Vanitas to him.  Revealing the existence of other worlds was forbidden, much less bringing someone else across worlds.  Besides, Vanitas didn’t have any armor to protect him on such a journey.

Leaving him here alone was just as dangerous.  Void had used him to get to her before; there was no guarantee the monster wouldn’t return.

Being a Keyblade Master was more difficult than she’d ever imagined.  What good was the magical weapon when she couldn’t use it to defeat the darkness?

Those doubts weren’t going to help her.  She might as well focus on gathering what information she could.

“Do you live somewhere in the city?”  She asked, keeping her voice as non-threatening as possible, particularly considering his reaction to her asking about his family.  But he had to have been living _somewhere;_ surely there was someone who could help him.  He’d gotten that fancy suit from somewhere, at least.

Vanitas kept walking straight ahead as if he hadn’t heard.  Or didn’t want to talk.  Mysterious as he’d been at the ball, he hadn’t seemed this closed-off.

_Five days in captivity could change anyone,_ she guessed.  It had changed her, hadn’t it?  She kept her eyes and ears open for any sign of Void as they hiked.

“No,” Vanitas answered a few seconds after she’d given up expecting a reply.  “I don’t really live anywhere.”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed huffily.

“I just go where… where I can find food,” he finished, not meeting her eyes.  “That’s why I really went to the ball.  Free food.”

“So you weren’t looking for anyone?”  She couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask.  She’d asked about that in her second letter, but that was still tucked away in her pocket.  They’d escaped before she could have Void deliver it.  Now it seemed silly to give it to him when they were together in person.

He shrugged.  “Depends on how you look at it.”

She frowned at the not-answer, but didn’t push it.  There were still other pieces that didn’t line up.

“Where did you get the clothes?”  She asked.  A smirk danced on his lips at the question.

“You won’t like it.”

“Vanitas,” she sighed, “I’m trying to help you.  I need to know what’s going on if I’m to do that.”

“Because where I got my clothes is _really_ that important to getting my light back.”  He rolled his eyes.

“Well - maybe not,” she admitted.  “I just want you to trust me.  I don’t really know that much about you, if I’m being honest.”

“Trust me, you’re better off that way.”  He stuffed his hands into his pockets.  “But if you _really_ want to know, I stole them.”

“You - you _what?”_ She shouted, but for some reason he just laughed.

“What, you want me to run around naked?  No parents, no munny, I gotta get clothes somewhere.”

He was right; she didn’t like that.  Was he more comfortable with stealing now that he had darkness?  But he’d done it before they’d even met… but only because he didn’t have any other option, it seemed.  Or else because no one had been there to teach him right from wrong.  Or any number of reasons she had no way of knowing.  

“We’ll get you some new clothes in town,” she said.  Not that one new pair of clothes would be enough to really help him.  He’d need a place to live, a job to earn munny… and he was younger than she was.  With no Master.  No family.  No one… except her.

_I can’t do this,_ she suddenly realized.  She already had to worry about Terra and Ven; how was she going to help Vanitas too?  Not to mention… the rest of the worlds that were still in danger, and here she was, unable to help just one boy…

Her sight went dark.  The ground suddenly slid out from under her feet.  Pain scratched across her face before her head hit something solid.

“Aqua!”  Vanitas crouched down beside her.  Wait - crouched?  “Aqua, are you alright?”

She was… on the ground.  The thought barely registered above just how _hollow_ her chest suddenly felt.  Just like when… when…

“Is Void nearby?”  She gasped out, wiping blood off her face with her thumb.  Blood.  A scratch - just a scratch.  The brambles must have scraped her on the way down.

“Wha - no, he’s not.  It’s just me,” Vanitas said quickly.  His gold eyes looked panicked.  “What _happened?”_

“Felt… like my light was gone again.  Just… for a second.”  The feeling was gone now.  Whatever it was had passed as quickly as it came.  “I’m fine, really…  you’re the one I’m worried about.”

He snorted.  “Of course you are.  Forget about me.  I’ve been taking care of myself a long time.”

Without asking permission, he suddenly scooped her off of the ground.  She was too surprised to protest - he was shorter than her, yet he managed to hold her across his arms with barely a grunt.

“Vanitas, you don’t have to-”

“I’m not about to have you pass out on me again.  The city’s not far now.”  Though he tried to sound detached, she didn’t miss the wideness of his eyes.

“You’re stronger than you look,” she said, hoping the compliment would be enough to distract him from worrying about her.  He raised an eyebrow.

“You might not be able to tell under this stupid outfit, but I look _very_ strong,” he said, and she laughed.

“I’m sure you do.  Thank you, Vanitas.”  She was still a bit embarrassed at being carried by the person she was supposed to be protecting, but… light, she _was_ still scared of that happening again.  Blood still trickled down her forehead.

What _had_ happened?  Why had she passed out?  Had her spell yesterday drained her more than she’d realized?  It had felt like death, but she’d thought she’d recover the way she had when Void stole her light.  Then again, she hadn’t tried doing anything strenuous shortly after that.  Maybe she just should’ve slept longer.  Or maybe it was because she’d done it a second time.  

It had been risky.  Too risky, probably.  Still, she couldn’t blame herself for trying.

“Have you eaten anything?”  Vanitas asked her as he walked.

“Oh.  Um…”

“I’ll take that as a no.”  He sighed.  “You’re out of food by now, aren’t you?”

Not technically.  She had half a piece of beef jerky in her pocket, which she had to squirm to reach.  Vanitas shifted his grip to accommodate her.  

“Why, you want some?”  She grinned and waved it close to his face before taking a bite.  He snorted.

“I just thought it might keep you from passing out again.”

It was a fair point.  Even if it didn’t completely explain the emptiness she’d felt, the thought that her sudden dizziness could be from normal hunger rather than darkness calmed her thoughts somewhat.  

“Thanks, Vanitas.  Really, I… don’t let people help me very often.”  She blushed a little, suddenly realizing how this would look to anyone else.  Particularly Terra or Ven.  Strong, solid Aqua, being carried by a regular boy?  Embarrassing as it was, it felt… nice.  Vanitas didn’t laugh at her weakness; he simply acted, leaving no room for argument.  

“Don’t thank me,” he mumbled.  “Just get better, okay?”

She nodded.  Actually, she was feeling better already, but Vanitas’s purposeful stride didn’t slow.  Maybe she could rest for just a few more minutes… feeling his heartbeat close to hers…

She turned her head so he wouldn’t see her blush.

“Looks like this is it,” Vanitas said more than a few minutes later, when the dirt road leading to the city gates came into view.  “Do you think you can walk now?”

She nodded, and he set her down gently.  His hand rested a second too long on her back before quickly drawing back, as if he’d touched a hot stove.

“Great.  Let’s get going, I think I smell some hot food with our names on it.”

She didn’t smell anything, but as they approached the gates, she did _see_ something.  A figure who stood atop the wall, surrounded by guards.

“Is that - Terra!”  She called, not that he would be able to hear from this distance.  If it even _was_ him - she could just see the silhouette of his hair against the sky.  Then he was running the opposite way, disappearing on the other side of the wall.  Strangely, a good chunk of the wall’s guards followed him.

“Come on,” she said, grabbing Vanitas’s hand.  His golden eyes were wide, for some reason, as she dragged him along.

“Uh, can you slow down?  In case you forgot, I was carrying you for a while there, I’m a little bit tired.”  His pace slowed, forcing her to little more than a brisk walk.  “What’s the rush, anyway?  You know that - that guy, or something?”

“He’s my… He looked like one of my friends, anyway.  But I’m not sure,” she replied, looking up at the wall again.  His appearance had been to brief to say for certain.  And she was pretty sure the figure hadn’t been wearing Terra’s usual shoulder plate, shirt, and suspenders, so unless he’d been smart enough to blend in with the locals, it couldn’t be him.

“No, probably not,” she decided.  “I guess I was just hoping.”

Vanitas frowned at that.  “Well.  Sorry, I guess.  C’mon, let’s just get some food.”

XXX

“Monsters?”  The guard lowered his pike and scratched the back of his neck.  “Sorry sir, I haven’t seen any in a few days at least.”

“You’re sure?”  Terra prodded, leaning against the wall’s high battlement and discreetly peering out over the woods, as if Unversed would appear there any moment.  True to the guard’s word, the only motion was the faint breeze rustling the distant leaves.

“Quite sure, sir.  Last night was the most quiet it’s been in a while, frankly.”

“Except for that message from the Grand Duke,” his fellow guard, a taller but lankier man, corrected.  “Something about keeping an eye out for a woman with blue hair.”  His tone was skeptical, but Terra started with a gasp.

“Aqua!  She’s here?”  It had to be her - blue hair obviously wasn’t normal on this world.  Was she looking for Vanitas too?  Even though it had only been a little over a week, it felt like it had been forever since he’d seen her.  It would be good to meet up and exchange notes on Vanitas and the Unversed - assuming she was still around.

The guards shared a look, then the lanky one sighed.

“If you know who she is, you should go speak to the Grand Duke at the castle.  It seemed urgent that they find her.”

“I still don’t understand why it’s that important, to be frank,” the first guard said gruffly.  “We’re here to protect the city, not run errands for the Duke.  It was enough of a mess escorting women to the ball last week with all those monsters about.”

“I don’t want to get into a predicament like that again either.”  The second rubbed his face.  “But, orders are orders.  Especially if she really did manage to escape the entire Castle Guard.”

“Escape?”  Terra asked.  Why would Aqua be on the run from the Castle Guard?  Why would she be at the castle at all?  Unless… maybe Cinderella had been right about the Unversed appearing there?

The guards nodded.

“We’ve been told to put her under arrest immediately, along with her spiky-haired accomplice.”  The lanky guard raised an eyebrow, as if just now taking in Terra’s hairstyle.  He hadn’t had much time to take care of it lately, but it was still definitely spikier than anyone’s around here.  He took a step back and raised his hands.

“Uh - you don’t think I…?”

The guards exchanged another loaded glance.  Their shoulders slumped in resignation, but their grips on their pikes tightened.

“Orders _are_ orders, sir.”

Terra said a curse that the Master definitely wouldn’t have approved of.  Then he took the only course of action that came to mind: bolting away.

The guards shouted behind him, calling out to more of the soldiers along the wall.  Terra ran to the inner battlement, ready to leap off - only to remember that he’d left his armored boots at the inn.  These ridiculous fancy shoes wouldn’t protect him from a jump this high.  Cursing again, he darted towards the stairs, barely dodging a burly guard who lunged for him.

_Stupid… tight… pants!_ They constricted his stride, which wasn’t as much a problem on the narrow stairs as it was when he leapt the rest of the way to the ground and kept running.  He stumbled on the uneven cobblestone.  These shoes weren’t made for running any more than the pants were; he could feel every crack in the stones underfoot.

He didn’t dare look back, but he could hear the thundering footfalls of probably a dozen guards behind him.  Could he outrun that many?  Normally it wouldn’t be a question, but with these stupid clothes -

He darted to the side and into a narrow alley, hoping the quick motion would lose them - or at least the tight space would keep them from following as quickly.  Strange outworlder curses echoed behind him.  That was a hopeful sign, but he didn’t stop running, even when he was afraid he’d split a seam in the brown trousers.

“Maurice, double back! Cut him off at the market!”

Or maybe not so hopeful.  He shoved over a pile of rotting crates, buying a few seconds when the guards behind him stopped short of the shattering wood.  That was good, but not good enough.  He couldn’t outrun them, and couldn’t let them pin him in the market - he needed another way out.  A distraction, like the crates, but better.

He winced even as he thought of it.  The Master wouldn’t like this.  Then again, the Master wouldn’t like him to be captured by the Castle of Dreams’ law enforcement, either.

Still sprinting for all he was worth, he summoned Earthshaker in a flash of blue lightning and translucent shapes.  The guards shouted, but he ignored them - his keyblade wasn’t the distraction he had in mind.  Suddenly he spun to face his pursuers, aiming the blade at the cobblestone beneath their feet.

“Freeze!”

The bold command was enough to make them pause, even before the Blizzard spell shot from his blade.  The ice crashed to the ground, exploding into a spray of frozen shards.  The guards hands flew up to shield their faces.  Terra didn’t waste time worrying about them; he threw himself into a weak-looking wood door in the alley wall.  It slammed inward under the impact, the noise lost amid the remaining ice shards clinking as they hit the ground.  Quickly he shoved the door shut again and prayed to the light that no one had heard.

Even if they had, the building he’d broken into was pitch black.  There was no way they’d find him in here without torches.  He blinked rapidly, hoping his own eyes would adjust.  If the guards did burst in - he could hear the guards scrambling to their feet out in the alley - he needed more than just darkness to hide him.

He felt his way through the stifling dust as quickly as he dared.  Making noise would be as dangerous as being seen.  The boards creaking underfoot didn’t care for stealth, though.  He needed to find a place to hide…

His hand brushed something that felt like smooth wood; after groping for half a second he decided it was probably a table.  

_Good as I’m getting._ He threw himself under the table just as a guard opened the door, letting in a square of blinding light.

“You think he went in _here_?”

“For his sake, I hope not.”  From his hiding spot, Terra could only see the bottom half of the man’s face, but it was marked with a frown.  “This old place hasn’t been cleaned out in ages.  There’s no telling what those blasted Moogles left in here.  Come on, Cedric, let’s go check the square.”

With that, they went jogging off, armor clinking all the way.

Terra remained still, hardly daring to breathe.  There could always still be other guards who had hung back, trying to trick him out of hiding.  Besides, if this was a moogle warehouse, he didn’t have anything to fear.  Except maybe the moogles themselves accusing him of stealing.  He’d deal with that if it came to it.

As the adrenaline slowly drained from his veins, the ridiculousness of the whole situation set in.  A blush crept up his face.  Why had he ran?  He hadn’t done anything wrong.  He doubted Aqua had done anything wrong either; surely they could have explained themselves to the guards.  

Then again, what if Aqua _had_ done something wrong?  She wouldn’t have believed what he’d done in the last two worlds he visited, either.

But Aqua was a Keyblade Master.  She didn’t have darkness in her heart like he did.  And _he_ was the one who’d ran into trouble with authority in those other worlds… maybe that was why he’d ran.  Sure, he might have finally done something right with Cinderella, but he was a long way from completely trusting himself.

He leaned back on his palms, feeling the thick dust under his fingers.  The guards were right; the moogles must rarely use this place.  Strange, since they were usually so particular about their wares.  They’d had a few that visited the Land of Departure sometimes, selling commands or restocking their supply of potions.  Maybe in mostly non-magical worlds, there wasn’t enough business to bother with keeping the place clean.

The moogles were the least of his concern, though.  Aqua.  Aqua was here, and possibly in trouble.  Keyblade Master or not, she might need his help.

_Yeah, like you can help her when you’re hiding like some kind of loser._ Face still hot with embarrassment, he summoned his keyblade and channeled light to its tip.  If he was going to wait it out here, he might as well take a look around.  Maybe there was still at least a holo-moogle here who could sell him some new panels before he went in search of Aqua.

He crawled out from under the table and held his blade out like a torch.  Dust obscured his vision nearly as much as the darkness did; he coughed and waved it away with his free hand.  

Boxes.  Boxes, boxes, and more boxes.  Made out of cardboard rather than wood, for once; this really must be the work of moogles.  This world hadn’t invented cardboard yet.  Other than that, there was nothing too exciting, except… something in an open box glinted in the light.  No, not glinted; it almost seemed to _absorb_ his keyblade’s light.

He crept closer, wood floor creaking underfoot.  Regardless of what the guards said, he was pretty sure moogles didn’t sell anything _really_ dangerous.  

As he approached, he could make out what the object was - but what was it doing _here?_

With his empty hand, he carefully picked up the trinket, which felt warm to the touch.  Its thin chain dangled through his fingers.  Earthshaker hummed in his hand, feeling the proximity of the magical item.

_Stroke of Midnight,_ the name of the keychain whispered in his mind.  He turned the charm over in his hand, feeling the smooth glass of the shoe-shaped item.  But that didn’t make sense.  Glass shoes… and a name like that… it mirrored his experiences with Cinderella, almost as if it had been made with her in mind.  Where had the moogles gotten it?  Or had it just appeared there for him, the way Treasure Trove and Fairy Stars had in his last two worlds?  Even Master Eraqus had never quite been able to explain the origins of keychains, and he’d never found the texts he was forced to read on them particularly exciting.  Maybe Aqua had paid better attention.

The sound of something shifting startled him from his thoughts.  Quickly he pocketed the keychain and extinguished his light.

The sound drew closer - and he recognized it.  One of those small blue Unversed was sliding through the floor, barely noticeable by its faint glow.

_Vanitas!_ He summoned his keyblade in a flash, taking up a battle stance.  Even just one of the creatures meant he could be here.  Just as he was about to creep towards the monster, the door flew open.

“Quick, Aqua, in here!” A voice hissed.  Terra held his breath.  In the brief moment before the door slammed shut again, he caught a sight of two silhouettes.

One of them must be the ‘spiky-haired accomplice.’  The other, he thought with a flash of both anxiety and relief, was Aqua.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’re finally getting somewhere!  I’d wanted this chapter to include Terra and Aqua’s meeting, but it ended up a bit too long to fit in.  Hopefully it won’t take as long for me to get to the next chapter this time, but no promises, especially with KH3 coming out next month.  Speaking of which, is anyone else still emotionally destroyed after that last trailer?
> 
> You’ll find out what Vanitas and Aqua are doing there in the next chapter, if you haven’t already guessed.
> 
> Not a super important detail, but as far as the Unversed in Radiant Garden go, Mickey’s been taking care of them the best he can.  


	12. Reuniting

“Quick, Aqua!  In here!”

Aqua dove for the open door, right behind Vanitas and the tiny Flood who had somehow found them again.  Following the Flood wasn’t a decision she’d wanted to make - it could still be connected to Void - but she couldn’t let the city guards catch them.  She’d had enough of playing prisoner.  At least Void she could fight head-on, now that he wasn’t holding Vanitas hostage.  He wouldn’t take her by surprise again.

Thankfully they were fast enough; the guards sped by on the main street, ignoring the alley that the Flood had slipped down to find this abandoned building.

“You’re some kind of freak of nature, you know that?”  Vanitas said.  For a second Aqua thought he was addressing her, but the amber glint of his eyes was focused on the Flood at his feet.  “How’d you find us again, anyway?”

Aqua was about to remind him the creatures couldn’t talk, but it just shrugged and gestured deeper into the building.  Not that she could see anything deeper in; the only light came from the ethereal glow surrounding the Flood.

“You want us to check it out, huh?”  He asked.  Aqua’s brow furrowed.

“I don’t think so.  Void could be here, for all we know.  The guards are probably gone now; we should focus on getting out of-“

Suddenly a light flashed a few yards away; she summoned Rainfell with one hand and blocked her blinded eyes with the other.

“Vanitas, get behind me!”  She called, readying a barrier spell.  If only the spots in her eyes would clear -

“Wait, Aqua!  It’s not him, it’s just me!”  A familiar voice called from the light.  She blinked rapidly, willing her sight to adjust.  

“Terra?”  She grinned.  The light from his keyblade cast sharp highlights across his face, but wasn’t bright enough to illuminate much beyond that.

A weight lifted off her shoulders.  He _was_ here, she’d been right - maybe the guards had even chased him here, too, considering what she’d seen at the top of the wall.  Maybe after the trouble with Void, they were targeting anyone who looked like they didn’t belong in this world.  Whatever the reason, seeing Terra calmed her racing heart.  She’d been so worried after finding out Master Xehanort was behind all this.  Something could have happened to him, the way everything had happened to her…

“Whoa, Aqua, are you alright?”  Terra stepped forward quickly, blinding her again as he moved.  He’d never perfected the a hovering Fire spell the way she had.  But at that moment she cared less about the fact that she couldn’t see, and more about him noticing the tears in the corners of her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m - I’m fine.”  She took a deep breath.  Despite what had happened to her, she was still a Keyblade Master.  She needed to stay strong and prove she deserved that title.  “Listen, Terra, I found out-“

His eyes darted from her, picking up movement.  She nearly jumped, but it was just the Flood, trying to dart off into the darkness.  The light from Terra’s blade flashed in a single arc as he struck it down.

Her mouth fell open as the wisp of blue smoke — all that was left of the Flood — floated towards the ceiling.  She shouldn’t be attached to it.  For all she knew, it was still loyal to Void… but it had helped her escape.  It had led her to Vanitas in the castle, and away from the guards, and to Terra just now.  It was different from the other Unversed.  It was…

“Aqua?”  Terra asked, lowering Earthshaker.  She took a step back.  “Something’s wrong.  What happened?  Why were the guards after you?”

Straight to the point, as always.  She laughed a little, trying to stifle her unease at the Flood’s passing.  It wasn’t like Terra knew the Flood had helped her.  All he’d seen was a monster to be destroyed.

“It’s a long story, but that’s not important right now.”  Her face hardened.  As much as she wanted to catch up, there was still the most pressing issue.  “I learned where the Unversed are coming from.”

“Me too,” Terra said, surprising her.  “I found Master Xehanort, and he told me—“

“Master Xehanort?”  She cut him off, fear flooding her veins.  “You found him?”

He tilted his head and grinned a little in spite of her tension.  “What, you’re that surprised?  It was my job, and I did it.  Just because you’re the Keyblade Master doesn’t mean you’re the only one who can figure stuff out.”

She caught the faint undertone of jealousy in his voice, something she could only recognize from years of living together.  A frown tugged at her lips.

“This isn’t about that, Terra.  Master Xehanort is—“

She gasped as a wave of nausea rolled over her, threatening to send her to the ground.  Terra caught her by the shoulder and steadied her.

“Aqua, you really don’t look good.  Maybe we should—“

But she barely heard him.  She knew that nauseating feeling — a terrible darkness loomed near.

“Void,” she whispered, her wide eyes meeting Terra’s.  “He’s found me.”

“Void?  Who’s—?”

A low voice called from the darkness, chilling Aqua’s blood.

“I’m sorry, is this a bad time?”  

XXX

Terra.  It had had to be _Terra._ What had his Flood been thinking, bringing them here?  Sure, he’d needed to find the idiot and taunt him into following him to Radiant Garden, but — not _here._ Not with Aqua.  Not like this.  His already fragile plans crumbled to ash the second Aqua had laid eyes on her friend.  She’d forgotten Vanitas immediately; it had been easy to fade back into the darkness.  Too easy.  If Void had really been a separate person, “Vanitas” would have been picked off before she even noticed.  All because she was focused on some idiot who didn’t even appreciate her.

But that didn’t matter.  Soon Terra wouldn’t be a problem for either of them.  Vanitas just had to keep his head on straight.

Rather than rising to his taunt, Aqua summoned an orb of Fire that hovered over a table full of junk.  The light spread farther than the bleach-scented gleam of Terra’s blade.  Far enough to illuminate the front of Vanitas’s helmet — and enough for her to realize that someone was missing.  

“Where’s Vanitas?”  She demanded, summoning her keyblade.  He retreated a step back, where the darkness could more fully hide his trembling hands.

_So_ now _you remember me.  I’m flattered, really._

_“Vanitas?”_ Terra shouted, making him flinch back.  Void, he _knew!_ Vanitas had forgotten Xehanort had told him; that secret was more dangerous than any spell Aqua could throw at him. “Aqua, _he’s—“_

“Ready to put an end to this,” Vanitas interrupted, his own keyblade materializing in his hand.  Dark vapors trailed off of it, pushing back against her Fire’s soft light. 

_An end.  This is really it, isn’t it?_ He couldn’t let Aqua out of here alive.  Master Xehanort would surely learn the truth then.  It might already be too late, with Terra having seen her, but he still had to try.

His grip tightened on Void Gear as he stared at her, her lips parted, eyes gleaming in the light of her Fire, blue hair also catching its orange glow.  The last good look he’d probably ever get of her.  The thought constricted his chest, costing him precious seconds he could have used on a quick attack.

Terra didn’t have the same hesitation.  He braced a hand on a narrow table and vaulted over it, scattering junk to the ground as he did.  A growl rose in his throat, but Vanitas backed into a portal before his blade could reach him.

“Get back here!”  He snapped, head whipping from side to side, but Vanitas was already across the room.  Directly behind Aqua.

“So you finally reunited with your idiot friend.  Congratulations,” he said in a near-whisper, closer than he should’ve dared.  Her scent flooded the inside of his helmet.  That, at least, he knew how to filter out by now.  She swung Rainfell at him, but only collided with a box of potion bottles as he sprung back, vanishing again.

“It looks like I _did_ come at a bad time,” he called from above — his portal had landed him in the maze of wooden rafters.  Terra and Aqua looked in every direction before finally realizing he was somewhere overhead, but their fire and light couldn’t reach him here.  Aqua wouldn’t risk sending a Fire too close and burning down the building… probably.  The plan he was currently making up had far too many _probablys_ for his liking.

“You didn’t even get the chance to talk to him yet, did you, _Aqua_?”  He forced himself to snarl her name; it felt wrong on his tongue.  That was the least of his worries, though.  He couldn’t take them both head-on; he wasn’t _that_ stupid.  His only shot would be to play off their weaknesses.

“What are you talking about?”  She called back, raising Rainfell.  Probably getting ready to use a shotlock, as soon as she could get a read on his location.  Well, he wouldn’t make it easy for her.

“ _Terra,_ of course.”  He snorted in disdain as he crept among the rafters.  The pair of keyblade wielders had retreated closer together and circled back-to-back in search of his voice.  The effortless way they worked together brought an Archraven to boil near the surface of his skin, but he squashed it back down.  

“You remember what I told you, right?” He continued to Aqua.  “I’m not the only one with darkness here.”

“Shut up!”  Terra shouted.  “I’m nothing like you!”

Of course he wasn’t.  He had friends who cared about him, a Master who cared about him, barely any problems beyond the tiniest sliver of darkness — nothing compared to Vanitas’s own.  But that wouldn’t stop Vanitas from preying on his fear.  He hummed in feigned nonchalance; the sound echoed eerily through the warehouse, as if the wood walls were taking up his song.

“Are you so sure about that?  You heard the old man.  You know what I am.”  It was a dangerous card to play, but if he could draw on his connection to Ven - the fact that they used to be the same person - Terra might lose some of his confidence.  However, it had a different effect on Aqua.

“Xehanort told you about him?” Aqua spun to face Terra.  “Do you know that they’re—” 

But Terra wasn’t listening.  He was busy snarling up at the shadows where he thought Vanitas was hiding.

“I know what you are.  You’re an abomination beyond hope of salvation.”

Vanitas froze.  Those words.  He’d picked _those words._

An abomination beyond hope of salvation —

_“Do you think that means Void has some good inside him?”_

An abomination —

_“No.  I don’t.”_

Beyond hope of salvation —

_“You - you_ freak _!”_

He dropped his keyblade, which dissolved in dark flame as he clenched his teeth and shoved his hands over his ears.

“I am _NOT!”_ He roared back, gripping the wooden beam so tightly that splinters stabbed through his suit.  “ _SHUT UP!”_

A Bruiser started to wisp from his back, stealing away the power he desperately needed for himself.  But it didn’t have time to fully form.  Before he could berate himself for the stupidity of his outburst, a bolt of electricity slammed into his chest.  Then another — and another —and _another —_

White overtook his vision.  His leg scraped the rough wood as he toppled from the beam.  A split second of gasping for breath, and then the remainder of it fled him as his body hit the floor.

“Nice shot, Aqua,” Terra’s voice filtered through the static in his ears.

_Aqua.  That was… that was…_ Of course it was her; Terra couldn’t have pulled off a shotlock like that.  She didn’t know he was her friend - he _wasn’t_ her friend.  He knew that.  Didn’t he?  She was just a diversion to him, and he was just an obligation to her.

So why did the fact that it was _her_ hurt as much as the electricity lingering on his skin?

“Is he…?”  Her voice murmured.  Was he imagining the regret in it?  His brain was as fried as the rest of him.  That was all.  He’d never be having these thoughts otherwise.

“No, look.  He’s breathing.”

Barely, and that only thanks to Xehanort’s training.  He’d survived worse, but he’d only keep surviving if he _moved,_ if he could get out of here — but even if he did Xehanort would just electrocute him again and again, or worse — there was nowhere he could go, nowhere as long as Aqua was alive —

Aqua.  She’d done this to him.  It was time to get over his foolish hesitation.

It was time to do what she’d been willing to do to him all along.

His eyes shot open — and were immediately blinded by the light of Terra’s blade.  But he didn’t let it stop him.  With every scrap of energy he had left, he sprung from the floor.  Channeling dark energy into his fingers, he made a desperate grab for Aqua’s neck.

Frozen in surprise, she didn’t dodge fast enough.  His hand connected, fingers wrapping around her throat.  Darkness poured from his hand, through the neck of her shirt, into her skin.

A scream tore from her throat, more visceral and raw than anything he’d ever heard.  If she’d had his powers, he could only imagine the Unversed that would have accompanied that scream.  Could he really do this?  Her voice was meant for singing, not screaming like this —

_Shut up!  It’s her or me!_ He grit his teeth and forced himself to keep going — until a blunt force slammed him back to the ground.

“Stay away from her!”

_Terra!_ Why couldn’t _he_ be the one Xehanort wanted dead?  Vanitas didn’t know if he could take the bigger keyblade wielder down too.  But he had to —he had to get out of here —

Another _thud —_ Aqua had collapsed beside him.  She wasn’t — he hadn’t killed her, had he?  She was stronger than that, she was — no, he _had_ to kill her!  Why was his heart still begging him to check if she was alright?

He couldn’t even do that much.  Terra’s keyblade slammed into the wood floor between them.

“What did you do to her!?”  He demanded.  The light wreathing his blade flickered fitfully, casting ghoulish shadows across his face.  Aqua’s Fire had gone out when she’d hit the ground, leaving Terra the only source of illumination.

But not for long, if Vanitas had anything to say about it.

“Same thing that’s going to happen to you,” he said, voice deadpan.  He couldn’t summon his usual snark, but at least his fear — for himself or for her? — didn’t bleed through.  “Her light’s gone.”

“You — you stole her light?”  Shock flickered across his face before his teeth clenched in rage.  “No!  Aqua’s light is stronger than that!”

“Maybe it is… maybe it isn’t.”  He shrugged, wincing when his shoulders scraped the floor.  “The real question is, how strong is _your_ light, _Terra?”_

The jab cut deeper than he’d expected.  Dark lightning crackled across that bronze keyblade again, making Terra gasp and let go.  With that contact broken, the light vanished entirely.

For the first time since entering the warehouse, a grin stretched Vanitas’s lips.  The darkness surrounded him like an old friend; he used its security to down a hi-potion he pulled from his belt.  Energy trickled down his throat and into his battered limbs. 

He could do this.  With Aqua out of commission — not dead, he was sure, but he’d deal with that later — he had the chance to lure out Terra’s darkness.  If he could push Terra over the edge, maybe Xehanort would overlook his other mistakes.  Maybe.  It was better than running away empty-handed, at least.

Void Gear came to his palm in a burst of purple flame.  

“Are you ready to see how strong your light really is?”  He taunted as his eyes adjusted to the dark.  Xehanort had trained him to fight in pitch blackness; he doubted Terra’s master had done the same.  “Or are you ready to give in to the dark yourself?”

“I’ll never do that,” Terra growled.  Vanitas heard the soft _shink_ as he pulled his keyblade from the floor.  “I may have darkness inside me, but I’m not like you. I’ll never let my darkness hurt my friends.”

A faint glint caught his eye — but there wasn’t any light to reflect, was there?  No, somehow there was — something glowing in Terra’s open palm.  Soft orange light surrounded it, then flooded over Terra’s body.  Some kind of command style?  No, it smelled different than that.

“And they won’t let it hurt me,” Terra finished with a smile, and Vanitas finally recognized the scent: the cotton-sugar blend distinctive of a Princess of Heart.  It made no sense, but his nose had never been wrong before.

“Cute light show.”  Vanitas drawled, hiding his sudden misgivings.  “But let’s see you prove it!”

XXX

Terra dodged back from Vanitas’s onslaught, pressing himself against an old dresser.  The masked boy was _fast —_ he definitely shared Ven’s speed, but none of his mercy.  His serrated blade slammed down directly where Terra’s head had been, shattering the dresser into splinters that cut his cheek.  He barely felt the pain; the glow surrounding him seemed to have the same healing effect Cinderella’s care had.  It made sense.  Their D-Link had done more than just connect them — it pushed down his darkness, cleared his mind, steadied his heart.  He wasn’t alone.  And so he could do this.

“Is that all you’ve got?  You’re just gonna glow and run away, huh?”  Vanitas taunted, taking another quick jab at him.  Terra batted that serrated blade away, knocking the masked boy back a few feet.  He stumbled and steadied himself against a stack of boxes — he hadn’t recovered as much as he wanted Terra to believe.

“I’m not running anywhere.”  He’d drawn Vanitas away from where Aqua lay unconscious, but now he stalked forward; his D-Link’s glow reflected off the boy’s mask.  There was nothing he could do to help her until he eliminated the threat.

“And neither are you, Vanitas.”

There was nowhere for the boy to run, no darkness for him to hide in.  The boxes and tables barred him in on three sides, with Terra carefully approaching from the fourth.  Vanitas might still have a trick up his sleeve — or in his suit — but Terra wouldn’t fall for it.  This boy had targeted Cinderella, and Aqua, and the rest of the worlds.  He was pure darkness, unfit to exist.  Beyond hope of salvation.

Rage boiled inside him, barely contained by the soothing effect of his D-Link.  As much as he wanted to tear Vanitas apart, he needed to keep himself together.  His darkness might not have hurt Cinderella before, but there was no telling what it would do if he let it loose again.

Darkness or no darkness though, Vanitas still needed to be destroyed.  Terra raised his keyblade —

And the boy rolled out of the way, slipping under a table and disappearing into the depths of the warehouse again.

Terra shouted, punching a box with his free hand.  His aura flickered briefly.

“Get back here, you freak!”

“Freak?   _I’m_ the freak?”  Vanitas laughed, a shrill, unhinged sound.  Nothing like the taunting chuckle from before.  “I might be made of darkness, but I’m not the one about to kill a piece of my friend!”

“You’re nothing like Ven!”  Terra snarled into the darkness.  Stretching the limits of his tight pants, he leapt over the table, and his D-Link’s glow illuminated the few feet of clear space behind it.  No sign of Vanitas.  Where was the little creep?  He had no right to talk about him _or_ Ven.

“Nothing like — you idiot, I _am_ Ven!”  The voice came from above.  In the rafters again?  That hadn’t worked for him last time, and Terra would make sure it didn’t again.  “I’m more of _Ven_ than your loser friend is!  He’s nothing more than an empty shell without me!”

“Don’t talk about my friend like that!”  His anger was useless, but — but this freak _wasn’t_ his friend.  He just wanted an excuse to keep Terra from destroying him.  Well, he’d fallen for a lot of things, but not this time.  This time, he was going to set things right.

_There._ A shadow of movement, at the top of a tall wardrobe — Vanitas’s silhouette was slinking across it, then down a staircase of boxes to the ground, as silent as darkness itself.  But that darkness wouldn’t stand up to his light.

He whirled, shrouding himself in a magical barrier and surging at Vanitas.  For once the boy wasn’t fast enough; he went flying into a bookshelf at the impact.

“Nngh… when’d you have the time to learn that?”  He muttered, but got back to his feet and resumed his stance, holding his keyblade high overhead.

Terra didn’t bother answering the question, not that he even knew the answer.  He’d never used that command before.  The link must have borrowed some of Cinderella’s power, even though she wasn’t a keyblade wielder like Aqua or Ven.

But now wasn’t the time to wonder about that.  Instead he utilized another command the link gave him: Wish Shot.  A glittering orb of magic spiraled out from his keyblade and took Vanitas in the chest.  He gasped, staggering back and cringing around the blow.

“What, can’t handle a little light?”  Terra couldn’t help taunting.

“Gah — shut up!”  Vanitas shook himself and leapt forward, bringing his blade down hard.  Terra barely blocked in time to keep his skull from being split.

_Can’t get cocky,_ he chided himself before retaliating with a spinning strike that charged his weapon with even more light.  The unfamiliar command left him dizzy, though — these attacks Cinderella had unknowingly given him were too different from his usual fighting style.  Vanitas jumped on the opening and shot a Dark Firaga at his leg.  He slid away a split second before his pants would’ve gone up in flames.  He could only imagine how Cinderella would’ve reacted to him coming back with her father’s clothes in ashes.

“I thought you were supposed to be the slow one!”  Vanitas snapped.  “Stay _still!”_

“How about you stay away from my friends!”  Terra came at him with his regular combo —better not to risk any more spinning mishaps.  Vanitas blocked the first two strikes before taking the last on his keyblade arm.

“Gah… You and your _friends._ Which one are you talking about?  Aqua? Ven? That princess you’re sticking around for?”  He leapt back, dodging another strike from Terra while he uncorked a potion with his teeth and downed it.  “I bet you loved what my monsters did to her place.  Much homier now, I think.”

Fire burned in him at the memory.  “You’re sick, you know that?”

“Oh, I know.  I’ve only been told that about a _million times,”_ Vanitas snarled, charging back into battle.

They exchanged blows, too quick for either of them to throw insults at each other.  That was fine by Terra; he’d rather throw spells and strikes.  The ragged sounds of their breathing and the sharp _clang_ of metal on metal grounded him.  Just like sparring with Ven or Aqua — only this time, he’d have to go harder than he ever had before.

For Aqua.  For Ven.  For Cinderella.  Vanitas _had_ to be destroyed.

His D-Link was wearing thin — the glow wouldn’t last long now.  And once it faded, he’d be in Vanitas’s realm.

“Nngh… I see why Xehanort wants you now.  You might be stupid, but you’ve got power, I’ll give you that.”

He grit his teeth, but didn’t respond to the taunt.  Vanitas had to be desperate to result to jabs like that — which meant he had to be close to going down.  If Terra could just get in a few more good hits on him… but he wasn’t making it easy.  He twisted and dodged like the shadow he was.  Meanwhile, Terra’s glow dimmed to barely a glimmer.

“Heh.  Looks like you’re light’s not gonna cut it after all.”

Rage bubbled up — and with it, the darkness he’d been holding back.  His D-Link burned out, Cinderella’s light no longer protecting him.  Her light.  Not his — he’d never had enough — he’d never been worthy to be a master —

While Terra wavered, Vanitas struck.  His blade ripped through Terra’s suit, his shirt, his skin - he tried to cast Cure, but his own darkness choked out the green light.  Pain lit every nerve on fire, but through it all, one thought remained:

He _couldn’t_ let Vanitas win.

“And here I thought you were actually going to put up a—”

Terra’s arm snapped out, his hand clutching Vanitas’s throat.  The same way the freak had grabbed Aqua before.  Now that the tables were turned, he clawed at Terra’s fingers, writhing as he lifted him off the ground.  Darkness pumped through his veins, out his skin, into the abomination —

And then suddenly there was light.  Terra flinched as it flooded the warehouse, pouring out from — from the door.  His blood froze, but he didn’t let go of Vanitas’s neck.  If he could just —

“Oh my — _Terra?”_

No — _no_ — not her, not _now,_ she couldn’t see him like this—!

Silhouetted in the doorway, hands hovering over her mouth in shock, stood Cinderella.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another cliffhanger right after that last one!  The good news: I now officially know where the end of this story is going.  The bad news: I probably won’t update again until a while after KH3.  But I’m sure you’ll all be distracted enough by that that it won’t be too much of a problem lol


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